The Slow Bang
by the-belles-echo
Summary: Bella moves to Forks, but it's not Edward who's been waiting for her. Bella/Alice
1. Directions

**I own nothing. This is what I've been doing when I'm bored since I can't cycle for another three months. The only good stories are ones for adults, so the rating's there for a reason – or will be in later chapters. **

Alice lay in the wet grass, the falling rain substituting for the tears she couldn't cry. Frustration and confusion had swelled inside her to the point where she had fled the house earlier. The atmosphere had been unbearable. The looks, the unspoken questions.

For two years she had been struggling with her visions. They had uprooted her family, destroyed her marriage, and effectively wound her emotions into such a taunt string that she feared the slightest whim would snap and unravel her sanity.

But still they persisted. Still **she** persisted. With every passing day the visions came more frequently.

In the beginning they had been just snippets of scenes. A girl smiling at her. A hand lingering on her forearm.

They had been confusing, but not alarming. Alice had imagined that she would meet a human, become friendly with a girl in one of the various high schools they enrolled in. It had happened before. Meeting a human who would overcome their natural instinct to avoid them was rare, though not unheard of. It had excited her; so very rarely did she get the chance to interact with someone outside of her coven.

But as time passed the visions became longer, more detailed.

_She was in a classroom. The lights were dimmed._

_The girl was beside her, but not looking at her. She looked like a studious high school student – her attention focused on the teacher discussing the current topic on a PowerPoint slide. _

_Apparently the girl was a flawless actress._

_Alice felt a hand on her thigh, fingertips gently stroking against her marble skin._

_Of course she was wearing a skirt…_

_Electric currents followed wherever the fingers traced against her skin. Bolts of desire flared through her before settling in deliciously inappropriate places._

_The girl seemed unfazed by her coldness, her fingers slowly drawing patterns higher and higher up Alice's thigh. _

_Alice's eyes rolled back, her breathing hitched. She bit her bottom lip between her teeth, the barest of growls rumbling through her chest. _

_And then the lights came back on. _

_The girl blushed and pulled her hand back._

The sexuality that the majority of the visions suddenly possessed was palpable. Afterwards Alice would be left wanting, frustrated. Jasper, unknowingly, only made it worse. He would catch on to her mood and naturally seek to roll with the emotions his wife was emitting.

Alice was left with little choice – she could either reject her husband or follow through with her body's vision-induced response. Neither option was satisfactory. When she rejected him Jasper was left confused and hurt, despite any excuse she gave him. And when she gave in…it was images of a young woman that she'd never met that flashed before her eyes.

Betrayal and frustration surrounded her mind like a tourniquet. Everyday it got tighter, cutting off all thoughts except for ones of the girl and of how horrible she was for thinking of her so much. Alice took her aggravation out on her hunts. Usually an immaculate hunter, she had begun to decimate her kills. Hunting was her therapy. When she hunted she could lose herself, forget everything but her thirst. Often she would return bathed in blood, smiling like she'd just been given a personally made Jean-Paul Gaultier dress.

No one ever made a comment on her change in hunting style.

In fact, no one ever said anything about the changes that had occurred to the usually cheerful and exuberant vampire.

Not even Edward.

He was her sanctuary. He had seen her thoughts and visions from the beginning. He had watched as they progressed from innocent images to hypersexual mini pornos. He never betrayed her trust; never spoke of the things he saw inside of her mind.

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In the end, Alice was the destroyer of her own world.

It had been a week without any visions. The respite was welcome, a relief from the daily torture that had been haunting her for the past year. Alice had begun to relax, to enjoy the everyday occurrences without anxiously awaiting the visions. She had begun to rejoin her family in regular activities.

Esme was building a shed in the back yard. She had taken up gardening when they first moved to Colorado and had amassed enough materials in the past year to need a larger place to store everything other than the garage.

Everyone was helping out. Emmett was cutting planks with Jasper; Carlisle and Edward were going over the blueprints, and her, Rosalie, and Esme were getting the paint supplies set up. They were all laughing and joking around with one another.

It was like things used to be before the visions.

Alice had no clue it was coming. One second she was reaching towards the paint roller and the next…

_She was perched outside Bella's window. Alice sniffed, inhaling the scent that had been driving her crazy ever since she had first smelled it. 'This isn't creepy,' she told herself. 'I know where this is going, it's not horrible to spy on your future lover.' _

_She watched as Bella moved around her bedroom, grabbing things and shoving them into her school bag. Alice unabashedly let her eyes wander over Bella's form. Feelings of anticipation and want began to lick up her body – all consuming flames that were anything but unpleasant. How Bella never realized how tightly coiled Alice was around her was both cute and impossibly maddening. _

_Alice watched as Bella left her room, listening as she made her way down the stairs and paused at the front door. She heard Bella sigh before picking up her car keys and heading out to her car._

_She jumped out of the tree, landing on the ground quietly. Bella was backing out of the driveway, pulling on to the road that would take her to the high school. _

_Hiding in the tree line, Alice shadowed her on the way to school. She raced ahead of Bella the last mile so she could make it seem like she'd already been at the school for some time before Bella arrived. _

_Edward and the others were already there. Alice silently ghosted over to the Volvo, blending into her family like she had been with them all morning. Rose was sitting on the hood of the car, Emmett tucked between her legs. For all intents and purposes they looked like the typical couple sneaking in a few kisses before the start of school. Rose's focus, however, was not solely on her husband. Her eyes narrowed at Alice. "Have fun watching your little pet last night?" she hissed, her words laced with venom. _

_Alice ignored her, her attention focused on the road that Bella's car was slowly driving down. Edward had gotten out of the car when Alice had arrived and now stood beside her. "You better make your move soon," Edward told her, his lips upturned in a sly grin. "Mike's getting anxious, he may beat you to the punch." _

_Alice rolled her eyes at him, her attention still focused on Bella. She had found a parking spot and turned her car off. Alice felt a thrill of satisfaction run through her when she noticed that Bella was scanning the parking lot. She turned towards Edward with a victorious smile, "I don't think it's Mike's car she's looking for."_

_It was Edward's turn to roll his eyes. "Alright lover girl, go get her," he told her, giving her a playful push in Bella's direction._

_Quickly, but at a human pace, Alice made her way to Bella's car. She ducked behind the other cars in the lot so that Bella wouldn't see her. Other students awarded her some strange looks, but no one said anything to her. Bella had gotten out of her car by now and had opened her back door to get her bag out. Alice quietly moved behind her and waited. Bella straightened, slung her backpack over her shoulder, shut her door, turned around…and came face to face with Alice._

"_Shit!" Bella yelped, jumping backwards against her car. Alice laughed as Bella's expression went from frightened shock to embarrassment. "Alice! You scared the hell out of me! Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." Bella yelled at her, punctuating each sentence with a smack at Alice's arms. _

_Alice laughed harder, but held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'll never do it again," she promised, capturing Bella's hands in her own to stop the physical assault. _

_By this time Bella was laughing as well. Alice continued to hold Bella's wrists as she smiled at her – momentarily losing herself in Bella's eyes. Not that Bella seemed to mind; she appeared to be as enraptured with Alice as Alice was with her. They stood smiling at each other for a few heartbeats until the first warning bell rang out across the parking lot, snapping them out of their reverie. _

"_Come on," Alice told her, pulling her towards the buildings, "I'll walk you to class."_

_Bella smiled and allowed Alice to pull her up next to her. "I didn't think you were here today. I didn't see your Porsche anywhere when I pulled in." she told Alice._

_Alice's smile got bigger. So she __**had**__ been looking for her this morning. "I caught a ride with my siblings. I didn't really feel like fighting my way through the throng of male bodies that always congregate around the Porsche at the end of the day."_

_Bella chuckled, "Understandable. It's a hard knock life for hot girls with hot cars."_

_Alice laughed and nudged her with her shoulder. "Shut it, you."_

_They walked slowly to the school, both silent, but not uncomfortably so._

_The hallways were nearly empty when they entered the school, but Bella made no move to quicken their pace. _

_As they slowly made their way in the direction of Bella's first class, Alice heard her companion begin to hum quietly. _

"_What song are you humming?" Alice asked. _

_Blood rushed to Bella's cheeks; she was embarrassed. _

"_Oh, it's nothing," she told Alice. "Just an old song I heard the other night. I don't even remember any of the words."_

_Alice smirked, but didn't push the topic. _

_They were only about twenty feet from Bella's class when Alice suddenly took Bella's hand in her own and slowly spun Bella around, deftly maneuvering Bella until her back was against Alice's chest. _

"_Alice! What are you…?" _

_Bella's words were lost as Alice's hands rested on her hips, swaying her back and forth with Alice's body. A shudder ran through Bella as Alice's lips feathered against her ear. _

"_Hold me, hold me, never let me go until you've told me, told me, what I want to know and then just hold me, hold me..," Alice sang softly in Bella's ear, elating when she heard Bella's heart rate increase ten fold._

_Bella sighed, her head automatically turned towards the direction of Alice's; their lips inches apart._

_And then the late bell rang. _

_The spell broke._

_Bella blinked uncertainly, slowly coming back to herself. _

_Alice sighed. "We're late. Again." _

_Bella flushed, then smiled. "At least we'll be able to spend detention together," she told Alice. She leaned over and gave Alice a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying towards her classroom. "I'll see you at lunch!" she called over her shoulder._

_Alice watched her go, her chest tight. As she turned to go to her class, she sang the rest of the song's line under her breath._

"_Make me tell you I'm in love with you…"_

_._

_._

When Alice came to she was on her hands and knees in the backyard.

The ache that swept through her was crippling. It was only a vision. A possibility of what might be.

"Bella…"

The mystery girl had a name.

More importantly, Alice was in love her.

Actively.

Present tense.

Alice loved Bella.

The pain was unbearable.

It wasn't the pain of knowing that her love for Jasper had been overshadowed and cast aside for someone new. Although that did hurt, this was worse than her own betrayal.

It wasn't even the pain of loving a human, or another woman for that matter.

What hurt was that Alice was desperately in love with someone she had never met.

She ached for Bella, longed to be with her.

She had no way to find her.

No idea when she would meet her.

Agony swept through her.

Alice threw her head back and wailed.

"BELLA!"

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Shortly after that vision Alice and Jasper had quietly ended their 60-year relationship. Jasper had decided to go visit Peter and Charlotte while Alice stayed with the family.

Carlisle and Esme had determined it was time for a change of scenery. Too many bad memories surrounded the Colorado house. Their theory was that a new start, a new town, would help put the past behind them.

And now here they all were. Forks, Washington.

Alice knew that this is where she would meet Bella. Still, she remained anxious. They'd already been here for a year. And since none of them looked young enough to pull off being freshman, Alice was getting ready to start her junior year.

'_Patience is a virtue,"_ Alice reminded herself. She forced her thoughts away from Bella and focused on the rain falling down around her. The seasons were changing. Everyday brought her closer.

It would happen. They would meet.

It was just a matter of time.


	2. Stalking the Wild She Beast

**Your reviews were lovely - I was immensely flattered. Half of this chapter bored the crap out of me to write. Formalities and all. Sorry.**

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"Bells! Over here!"

Bella turned and looked over her right shoulder. She spotted Charlie at the end of the terminal waving to her, his brown police uniform making him stand out among the throng of people. She made her way over, and smiled when he pulled her into an embrace.

"Hi, dad." She spoke softly, enjoying the hug. It'd been three years since she'd last seen her father.

"It's good to see you, kid. Let's get your luggage and head home, I'm sure you're tired."

Bella's smile turned wistful. In all the years that had passed Charlie hadn't changed – he was perpetually a man of few words. She felt a pang of sadness for all the time she had missed with him, but the feeling that this move was a wise decision solidified in her mind.

Spending the last two years of high school with her father in Forks would work out.

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Unpacking was depressing. It made Bella think about how many friends, relationships, and usual teen memories her life was missing.

In Arizona she had never connected with anyone. Kids her own age annoyed her, and older people avoided her like the plague since she was in high school.

'_This year will be different,' _Bella told herself. _'I'm going to be a normal teenager, do normal teenage things, have a normal teenage life.' _

Heavy footsteps coming up the stairs disrupted her musings. After so many years of living with her mother – small, slight Renee – Charlie sounded like Bigfoot thundering around the house.

She listened as his footsteps grew nearer and was slightly confused for a second to see the awkwardly thin and long box appear at her doorway.

Less than a second later excitement replaced her confusion. She jumped up from her spot on the floor and practically skipped over to Charlie.

"Excellent! I was hoping it'd arrive soon!"

Bella grabbed the box with practiced ease and gently set it down on her bed.

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Charlie watched as his daughter completely zoned him out, methodically going through her boxes, pulling out random toolboxes and odd metal fixtures.

"Um…Bells?" he asked, breaking her out of her trance. She looked at him quizzically. He returned the look. "What is all this stuff?"

"It's my bike. Don't you remember that I started cycling four years ago?"

She sounded hurt. Charlie started racking his brain to remember when he'd ever heard that Bella had started riding bikes around. A vague memory surfaced – he latched on to it.

"You got into it after one of Renee's random interests, right?" he asked, relaxing slightly when he saw her face brighten. _'Point for the old man,'_ he thought to himself. _'Crisis averted.'_

"Yeah that's right," she told him, "Mom got tired of it, but I was addicted. I saved up, bought a good bike, and started riding around the city. Eventually I met up with a few other enthusiasts who helped me better understand the sport and train properly. About a year and a half ago I was picked up by a locally sponsored team and started joining in races."

Fatherly pride began to swell within Charlie. "Races, huh? Like the Tour de France type stuff?"

Bella chuckled. "Not quite that epic, but yeah."

"You ever win any of the races?" he asked her, watching as she slid the bicycle frame from the box and set it onto a metal stand.

"Not yet," she told him, gathering her tools and the parts to assemble her bike. "I'm still an amateur. The best I've ever placed was 9th individually. It'll be another two or three years at least before I have a shot at going pro and getting on a professional team."

"Will you still be able to ride out here? Washington's not the best place, weather wise, for biking."

He watched as Bella's grin grew more prominent. "The weather's actually a bonus. Phoenix never had much cold weather or rain so this will help me train on areas that I don't have much experience with. I was planning on using this week before school starts to ride around and get used to the roads around Forks."

Charlie frowned, but couldn't think of a good enough excuse to voice his discomfort with the idea. "As long as you're careful," he told her.

"I will be dad," Bella promised.

She had purposely pulled the dad card. He knew it, but was powerless to stop the effect it had on him. He wouldn't try to stop her from riding around. It was important to her.

He nodded slowly and then pushed himself off the doorframe he'd been leaning on. "Alright, well I'm going to lock the door and head to bed. I have an early shift tomorrow. Try not to stay up too late."

Bella's attention was already focused back on her bike. As Charlie made his way downstairs he thought he heard her give some belated affirmative reply to his request, but he couldn't be sure.

It'd been years since Charlie had to play the active parent role, and the unwritten rules of raising a teenager were lost to him. Boys, homework, friends coming over on school nights, feminine issues – all were things that he had no idea how to deal with.

'_Relax, school doesn't start for another week and no boys have met her yet,'_ Charlie told himself.

He locked the front door, turned off the lights in the living room, and then made his way to turn off the kitchen lights. _'I've still got a few weeks to get used to all this before the teenage drama starts to infiltrate the house,' _he reassured himself, flicking off the light switch.

Charlie turned to head up the stairs – and then froze.

There.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see through the kitchen window.

There was somebody standing on his lawn.

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It was eerily quiet.

Bella was used to noise; she'd lived in the city for almost ten years. The stillness small town life possessed unsettled her.

It made her feel uneasy.

Isolated.

She felt hot – the room was suddenly overwhelmingly stuffy. She moved over to the window and forced it open. Years of disuse made it screech.

The night was quiet.

Something was wrong. Their house was on the edge of town – one of the last homes before the large expanse of forest reclaimed the land for hundreds of miles. Bella hadn't lived near the country for years, yet natural instinct told her that the woods should have been alive with nocturnal sounds.

Her body hummed to life. Adrenaline coursed through her, her breathing picked up. The hairs on the back of her neck rose. Frantically Bella began scanning the tree line, looking for whatever her subconscious had picked up on. She started to back away from the window – then stopped.

There was movement against one of the trees at the edge of the lawn. A pale shadow against a dark outline.

She tried to force her eyes to adjust to the darkness, unconsciously moving towards the window and leaning out to get a better glimpse.

There was nothing there.

She sighed. "Nice Bella. Not even 24 hours and you're seeing monsters."

She started to pull herself back inside the window.

A twig napped – her breath caught.

It was beneath her window.

Her head tilted down on its own accord. Simultaneously, she saw a flash of white race towards the trees and heard the front door open. The crunch of boots on the gravel driveway announced Charlie's pursuit of the creature. He rounded the corner of the house and stopped next to the tree by her window.

Bella watched him scan the woods before he looked up at her. "You ok, Bella?" he yelled up at her.

She nodded before finding her voice. "I'm fine," she told him. "What was that thing?"

Charlie's gaze returned to the trees. "Bobcat most likely," he told her. "They've been getting braver each year, coming closer to houses, digging through trashcans."

'_He doesn't sound certain,'_ Bella thought. _'He doesn't know what that was.'_

As if hearing her, Charlie turned his gaze back up to her. "Don't leave your window open at night – it's not safe."

Bella nodded and pulled herself back inside her room. She closed and locked the window, but didn't feel any safer.

Sleep would not come easily.

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Birds woke Bella in the morning. She was certain that there were at least a thousand nesting in the tree outside her window.

It was 11 in the morning. Rolling out of bed, she sleepily made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Something on the table caught her eye. She moved closer.

Pepper spray. Police issued pepper spray. With a note that said, 'Just incase.'

Bella rolled her eyes but picked up the can. It might be smart to hold on to if she was going to ride down some of the back roads in the country.

'_Speaking of riding,' _Bella thought to herself, _'I should get around and do some today. Familiarize myself with the area.'_

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Two hours later Bella rolled her bike out of the house. She placed her pepper spray in her extra water bottle holder and turned to lock the door.

Something felt off, but she couldn't place it. She looked around as she moved her bike down the driveway. Nothing was amiss. She shook the feeling off.

'_Nerves,'_ she told herself, mounting her bike. She looked to her left – the road easily loped towards the small town. Turning to the right the road angled off into the trees, a teasing slope hinting at the mountains that weren't too far off in the distance.

Bella looked left.

Then right.

Then left.

Then right.

And pedaled.

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She was lost.

She had been riding around for hours and couldn't find a familiar road, or even a break in the trees to try to situate herself and her location.

This was the third day she'd been riding on the back roads. It'd felt good, the weather was uncharacteristically nice, and she'd made a split second decision to veer off on an isolated road she hadn't been down yet.

Bella sighed as she looked around. "Stupid, stupid, shit," she cursed at herself.

And then she was airborne.

She made it to the count of three before the ground reached her.

She lay in the pavement's embrace for a minute, eyes closed, mentally taking stock of the damage.

Her right forearm was on fire and her leg throbbed.

Experimenting, Bella moved her limbs. A low groan escaped her. Everything hurt, but nothing was broken. She opened her eyes and pushed herself into a sitting position. Her bike was three feet from her – the front wheel and rim bent at a 90-degree angle. Apparently she'd somehow missed seeing the pothole that was the size of the Grand Canyon.

There'd be no getting back to town on the bike.

And she'd forgotten to bring her cell phone.

Bella mentally paraded a litany of curses through her mind until the stinging in her arm brought her back to reality.

Looking down at her limb she grimaced. Road rash. The sleeve of her jersey was shredded from wrist to shoulder. Luckily, it seemed that she was only bleeding from her forearm, which nicely enough, had bits of dirt and pavement embedded in it.

Getting to her feet, Bella limped over to her bike and grabbed the water bottle. She opened it and poured water over her arm – gently brushing off her sleeve, hissing when the water rubbed into her cuts.

Gritting her teeth, she pulled back her sleeve to clean the rest of it.

The feeling of cool air hitting her wet wound soothingly distracted her from the fact that removing the sleeve had allowed the blood to more freely flow from her arm.

A low moan reached Bella's ears from somewhere on her right. She froze before slowly straightening herself and turning towards the sound.

The forest was silent.

'_That's no bobcat! That's no fucking animal!' _her mind screamed, hysterically.

Bella felt herself take a step towards the noise.

'_Don't go towards it, you idiot!'_

But it was as if her body had a completely different motive than her mind. Instead of taking her away from the perceived danger, it wanted her to get closer.

Bella stood motionless, listening. She could feel blood slowly trickling down her arm and hand, before falling in soundless drops from her fingertips.

Behind her someone began to breathe. Heavily.

Bella didn't move, she didn't even think.

Fingertips ghosted down her right side. Touches so light that if it weren't for their coldness she wouldn't have known she'd been touched.

A person was behind her.

She didn't relax. Instinct told her that this was not a local, that this was not someone who was normal.

A body pressed up against her back. They were shorter than she was, cool and hard.

Unconsciously Bella felt herself lean back into the touch.

Wintry breath blew against a tear on her shoulder blade that she'd been unaware of.

"Bella…" whispered the voice against her back.

'_An angel,'_ Bella thought. _'It sounds like an angel.'_

She sighed as cold lips brushed her skin. She turned, instinctively reaching for whoever was behind her.

And found herself alone.

Confused, she looked around. No one was in sight.

She took a step towards the side of the road, impulse driving her towards the forest.

A new sound stopped her.

It wasn't the noise of a human, but of a machine.

A car.

Bella turned to her left and watched as a car approached and slowed to a stop.

The door opened and a man gracefully stepped out.

'_Well now it makes sense,'_ Bella told herself, _'I've died.'_

The man was young, maybe in his thirties. He was achingly beautiful – blonde hair, strong facial features, physically perfect. **And** he was wearing a doctor's coat.

Bella couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. _'A gorgeous, young doctor in the middle of nowhere right when I need him. Definitely dead.'_

He was approaching her cautiously. "Are you alright?" he asked. "What happened?"

Bella snorted. "You tell me, Doc. Am I dead?"

His brows drew together in confusion. "You're not dead, but it looks like you've been in an accident. Do you remember what happened? May I come closer to help you?"

Reality was slowly returning to Bella. She twisted back to the forest, "Was it real?" she whispered, her eyes searching.

"Miss?"

She turned back. Dr. Good-looking was right beside her. "Do you remember your name? Do you know where you are?" he asked.

Bella looked up into honey colored eyes. "My name's Isabella Swan, and I am hopelessly lost," she told him.

Exhaustion suddenly swept through her and she swayed.

The man reached out and gently steadied her. "Well Miss Swan, my name is Carlisle. I'm one of the doctors at Forks Medical Center, and I know your father," he told her. Carlisle slowly turned her towards his car, "If you don't mind, Miss Swan, I'd like to call your father, let him know what's happened, and give you a ride to the hospital. We should get your scrapes cleaned up and check to see if you have a concussion."

From the look he was giving her Bella could tell he definitely thought she had head trauma. She looked back to the forest, and then to her bike. "I can't leave my bike out here," she told him. "It's really expensive and means a lot to me."

Carlisle smiled reassuringly to her. "We can put it in my trunk, I have a few bungee cords to hold it in place."

Again, she hesitated. Her eyes drifted towards the woods. They were out there, she knew. She studied the trees, looking for any movement that would alert her to wherever they were hiding.

"Miss Swan? We really should get you to the hospital. You're still bleeding quite a bit."

She looked down at her arm. Blood was streaked across her skin in the streaked pattern of fingertips.

It had been real.

Slowly she allowed Dr. Carlisle to pull her towards his vehicle, vaguely aware of him talking to her father on his phone.

Her eyes stayed trained on the same spot in the trees.

"Soon," she whispered.

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Alice watched as Carlisle helped Bella. Edward stood beside her, his hand on her shoulder firmly holding her in place.

Twice she had tried to break free and go to Bella.

"You could kill her," Edward told her. "Let this time go. She'll be in school on Monday."

'_You want me to wait? Two years and you tell me to let her go, to wait more…'_

"Yes," he told her. "For her safety. Until you can be completely sure you won't harm her."

The animal part of Alice roared defiance. Her mate was there, twenty feet away – wet, wanting, bleeding for her. She was hers to mark, to claim.

"Think rationally." Edward told her.

She tried to refuse, tried to keep his words from settling in her mind.

Slowly, Alice came to herself.

Bella was hurt.

She didn't know Alice.

She had no idea that they were going to be lovers, were going to love each other.

Disappointment swept through her.

Not today.

"Soon," Alice whispered, watching Carlisle lead Bella towards his car.

When she heard Bella repeat the word back to her, Alice finally allowed Edward to pull her back towards their house.

Time had finally arrived.

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**.**

**Don't worry, cycling's just a convenient device that I'm familiar with to get Bella out in the wilderness alone with Alice. This isn't going to be a Mighty Ducks story about Bella becoming the world's best junior racer or anything. **

**I'm not this fast of an updater. There was the two-day wait to upload stories and I just kept writing. **

**To answer lovesanime's question – you bet there's going to be lemons. Teenage hormones are going to run rampant in this story. **

**If anyone has other questions or confusions I'll try to answer them or iron them out in the story. Just let me know. **


	3. Goodnight

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"Hey Bella! Could you come down here for a minute?"

Bella gave a silent huff of frustration. Charlie, the man of notoriously few words, had been hounding her since her accident two days ago. If she went downstairs and he asked her one more time if she needed "anything at all" she was not going to be held accountable for her actions.

"Yeah, sure! Be down in a second!" she yelled back to him.

She didn't want to go downstairs. Her arm itched. It had been itching for hours. The bandage chaffed her cuts just enough to provide not enough friction, and it was maddening.

'_Don't scratch,'_ she scolded herself. _'You'll just reopen the cuts and eventually have to go through the itching stage again.'_

Her attention turned to her leg – it still throbbed. She didn't know whether she was amazed or disgusted by the purple and black mass that had taken over her knee and calf area. Carlisle, or Dr. Cullen as she had learned was his last name, had told her that while no bones were broken quite a few blood vessels had been ruptured.

'_At least I'll make an impression tomorrow.' _ Bella thought, wryly. _'Especially with Charlie dropping me off in the cruiser.'_

She hadn't planned on wrecking.

The only wheels she had left were her racing wheels – and there was no way in hell that she was going to put those perfect, flawless, expensive ass wheels on her bike to ride on the roads around Forks.

The nearest cycling shop was in Seattle. She'd have to find a ride up there soon.

"Bella? You coming?"

'_No.'_

"Yeah, on my way!"

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The staring was starting to creep her out.

Bella looked around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with the guy across from her.

She had come downstairs to find Charlie in the company of a man and a teenage guy. They were both Native American and vaguely familiar. Billy Black was her father's best friend – had been since before she was born. The teenager was his son, Jacob.

They had reintroduced themselves and stayed for dinner, which consisted of fried fish and the Nationals game. Apparently they were all huge baseball fans.

Bella was not.

Three hours later she silently found herself cheering against the Nationals. It was the last inning and if the guy would just strike out she could retreat back to her room. All afternoon it had been Charlie and Billy discussing team stats that she didn't care to understand and Jacob staring at her as if she were the first female he'd ever seen.

They groaned in disappointment. Bella sighed in content. Strike three. Game over.

She was out of her seat before the batter had left the box. Turning to Billy and Jacob she gave what she hoped was a winsome smile. "It was really great to see you two again. I need to go get my stuff around for school tomorrow, but next time you're over…"

Charlie interrupted. "Don't you want to see your surprise?"

Warning lights started flashing in her mind. Her brows furrowed. "What surprise?"

Charlie smiled excitedly. "The one that Billy and Jake brought over."

Bella slowly looked around the room, desperately trying to shake the feeling of dread building inside her.

"Not in here," Charlie told her. "It's outside, c'mon."

Cautiously, she followed in trepidation. As a general rule she hated surprises – she never knew the appropriate response to give when given something. The fact that her father, who she hadn't seen in three years, and his best friend and best friend's son had somehow been involved in getting the surprise made her extra wary.

Exiting the house, she looked around. Nothing was sitting on the ground, nothing was on the lawn, nothing was in the drive…

'_No.'_

Charlie was leaning up against what at one time Bella was sure was the world's first truck. It was rust red, which helped camouflage the rust spots that littered the body of the vehicle.

'_There's no way that's the surprise,' _she told herself. _'No parent would freely opt to get this vehicle for their child.'_

Her eyes quickly sought out her father.

Her heart sank.

He was smiling at her, obviously proud of himself.

"So what do you think?" he asked. "Pretty neat, huh?"

'_No.'_

"Yeah it's…neat," she lied. Charlie looked too happy for her to tell the truth. Quickly she began cataloging possible excuses for her to never have to get behind the wheel of that…thing.

"I know you plan on riding your bike around a lot, but I figured you'd need a vehicle for when the roads are too icy or the weather's too bad to ride in," he told her, looking sheepishly to the ground as if he were embarrassed at his thoughtfulness.

Internally, Bella groaned. He was pulling the dad card. The concerned, just wanting to do what's best for my kid, card. There was no way she could refuse it. Worse, she'd actually have to drive it now once in awhile.

She straightened her spine and faced defeat with a smile. "Thanks, dad. I really appreciate it."

Nodding, Charlie tried to appear nonchalant. "No problem kid. Jacob here will fill you in on the little details about the truck – I need to talk to Billy for a second about some issues down at the reservation."

And just like that she was abandoned in the front yard with only Jacob for company.

He was still staring.

Nervousness began to swell within her chest. The situation was growing awkward, yet she had no words to offer to the young man across from her. Jacob seemed pleased to be alone with her, he was smiling and moving closer.

Bella began preparing herself for an assault. _'Fingers to the eyes, knee to the groin.'_

"Do you like it?" Jacob asked.

She stared at him uneasily.

"The truck," he clarified, speaking slowly like she was mentally handicapped. "Do you like the truck?"

Tension eased from her. She felt foolish for treating him like he was a wild animal. He was a friend of the family; obviously he wasn't going to do anything to her.

Still…she couldn't stop feeling like she was caged in with an untamed creature.

"Yeah I like it," she told him. "Very retro, vintage."

He laughed. "I'm glad we're getting rid of it before I get my license next month. I didn't want to get stuck with it."

Bella looked at him incredulously, "How old are you?" she asked.

"Fifteen going on sixteen."

She scoffed. "Yeah right; and I'm thirty-five." Jacob was over six feet if he was an inch, and he face held none of the boyish youth it should have at sixteen.

He laughed. "No really, I'm fifteen. A lot of guys out at the reservation are like me. We all seemed to hit our growth spurt at the same time. Genetic gift, I guess."

Before she could voice her skepticism, Jake changed the subject. "So do you know how to drive a manual? Cause if you don't I wouldn't mind hopping in and showing you how to work it."

"No!" Bella shouted. She immediately chastised herself as she saw Jake's face fall. "No," she said again, this time not so vehemently. "I can drive a stick. My mom made me learn. Thanks for the offer though."

Distantly Bella thought she heard the sound of bells tinkling. She looked around for the cause, but came up short when she absently looked over at Jacob.

He was staring out into the forest, his face livid. His body shook and he was breathing deeply through his nose.

Instinctively she stepped back.

Jack whirled, rounding on her. Two purposeful strides put him directly in front of her. He grabbed her arms tightly in his hands. "Have there been any animals around here lately? Any odd occurrences? Have you seen anything weird at all?" he asked, pinning her gaze with his own.

'_Yes.'_

"No! I haven't seen anything," she told him, her fingers desperately trying to pry his fingers from her arms. She had no idea why she lied to him. "Jake, let go. You're hurting me."

Immediately he let go of her arms, looking regretful. "I, I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Bella rubbed her arms, working to regain blood flow to the area. She threw a hard glare at Jake. "What the hell was that about?" she demanded.

A voice interrupted them, making Bella jump. "Time to go, Jake," Billy said as he came out of the house, Charlie behind him.

Jake nodded to his father before turning his gaze back to Bella. "Stay out of the woods, Bella. It's not safe."

.

.

Alice hadn't been thrilled when she saw the young werewolf and Bella standing together. She wasn't jealous; it wasn't as if Bella was interested in the pup. Still, small ripples of satisfaction coursed through her when she saw Bella eyeing the young teen guardedly.

Bella didn't recognize it, but Alice knew it was human instinct that made her cautious. It was that same instinct that drove her away from the werewolf that pulled her towards Alice. Bella was internally wired for her apparently. She felt herself smile at the thought.

After she had regained control of herself Alice had spent the last two days hunting. She'd never hurt Bella, but she didn't see the point in risking anything. Her blood had been tempting, but in a way that had only heightened the sexual response her body had to her mate. She was in no danger of killing her.

Still, it was like Esme had said: it probably wouldn't be the best first impression if Alice knocked Bella to the ground and mounted her like a rutting animal.

With that in mind Alice had hunted what she felt was like every living animal in northern Washington. She had glutted herself until the animal within her had been quieted to a whisper.

There would be plenty of time for lust; what Alice desperately missed was Bella's love.

She watched Bella interact with the boy longingly.

Unable to stay away after two days, Alice had come to Bella's home before returning to hers. She had been surprised to smell the wolves, and had nestled herself into one of the trees downwind. The smell was awful, but she could easily hear the conversation taking place in the Swan's front yard.

She heard Bella's negative exclamation to the boy, Jacob's, request and couldn't help it – she laughed out loud. It echoed off the trees. He heard it.

'_Shit,'_ Alice thought, watching him begin the early phases of shifting. Her teeth bared and she unconsciously crouched into an attack stance. She held back a growl. The last thing she wanted to do was entice a young werewolf into a fight around humans. If he shifted she'd kill him, but she wouldn't make the first move. Not with Bella so close.

A minute later she almost lost her resolve. As soon as he grabbed Bella Alice was on the ground and heading towards the house.

The boy's father saved his life.

Alice was halfway to Bella, crouched low in the tall grass. She watched as they got into Charlie's police cruiser, he was giving them a ride back to the reservation.

It was starting to get dark. Alice didn't need to move, they wouldn't be able to see her from the road. Her attention turned back to Bella, watching as she walked up the porch steps and into the house.

'_Alone at last,' _Alice thought, slowly making her way forward.

.

.

Bella looked over her shoulder for the twentieth time.

Nothing.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

Shrugging it off, she threw the last of her things in her bag for tomorrow.

Charlie had come home a few hours ago and immediately bid her goodnight. She didn't know how he pulled off getting up at 5 a.m. each morning.

Hazarding a glance at the clock, Bella saw it was only 9:30. While it was pathetically early to go to bed, that was really the only option left open. Everything in town was closed, she didn't know anyone yet, and Sunday night television wasn't her thing.

Sighing, Bella walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of old shorts and a t-shirt. She paused for a second, stretching out her senses.

The feeling was still there.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no free show tonight," she spoke into the quiet before heading towards the bathroom.

Alice laughed quietly.

Gently she placed her fingertips on the window.

"See you tomorrow love."

.

.

**I'm sorry, I feel like a jerk. You all wanted them to meet. I am almost finished with that part but it didn't feel right to add it onto this chapter. Tomorrow night if I can I'll update. Latest you'll have to wait is Sunday.**

**Trust me, that truck's going to die soon. I had to get Jake into the story – baby steps for the story arch. No, he's not going to be the super jealous bad guy. **

**Flattery gets you everywhere, apparently. I don't even write this much during finals.**

**Next chapter they meet. And talk. Multiple times. I promise.**


	4. Starting Something

Alice walked into the kitchen. She glanced around, hoping something would catch her eye and provide her with a distraction.

Nothing.

She walked into the living room. Emmett sat cross-legged on the floor playing a video game with a headset on. A few weeks ago he had discovered games could now be played online with multiple other players in real time. Since then every night had been filled with his gleeful taunts and curses as he logged hours upon hours into his new favorite pastime.

It annoyed everyone to hear him shouting at the game all night, but Alice wasn't too concerned. In two days Rose was going to smash the system and that'd be the end of it.

She continued on to the dining room. Esme was hunched over the dining table drawing up plans for an addition to the house on Isle Esme. She glanced over at the grandfather clock as Alice entered before turning to give her a comforting smile.

Alice flashed her a nervous smile in return but wasn't distracted enough to stop and watch. Nerves compelled her on to another part of the house.

Upstairs, bedroom. Library, bedroom. Downstairs, kitchen. Living room…

"Quit pacing, you're making me nervous."

Rose was sitting on the couch watching Emmett play while idly flipping through a magazine.

Alice sighed in relief. _'Finally,'_ she thought, walking over and tucking herself into the sofa next to Rose. "Aren't you even a little nervous?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Alice smiled, "It's ok to admit it."

She watched as Rose scoffed disdainfully.

"Nervous?" she asked Alice. "Nervous for what? To spend another year around the same type of humans that decade after decade worry about the same trivial things?"

Alice opened her mouth to respond but Rose lifted her hand, stopping her. "Or am I nervous that my sister is about to begin a relationship with a human that has connections to a pack of young, unstable werewolves?" Pausing for a second, Rose put her index finger on her lips, pretending to think. "Or perhaps you meant am I nervous over the fact that you're going to start bringing a fragile human into a house full of vampires that usually tend to eat their kind?"

Alice sighed. She knew this conversation was coming.

"Nothing will happen, Rose. The werewolves won't break the treaty or their oath, none of us pose any threat to her, and she won't expose us," Alice spoke calmly, eyes closed. She knew Rose could be a bitch, but it was usually with good intentions.

Internally she began to wonder. _'Do they all feel like this? Does everyone think negatively about this? That I'm putting us all in danger for selfish reasons?' _

Her mind raced.

"Absolutely not," Edward spoke, entering the room. He had heard her thoughts from across the house. "Rosalie speaks for herself. Neither I, nor anyone else, begrudge you your feelings Alice. Do what makes you happy – none of us want anything else of you." He walked over and sat in an adjacent chair.

Pausing his game, Emmett turned to face Alice. "Personally, I can't wait for you two to get together. If she ever needs any anatomy tutoring you're always welcome to use my room," he told her, waggling his eyebrows.

Alice laughed as Rose threw the magazine at him. "See if you ever get the chance to study it again," she told Emmett before turning back to Alice.

Rose stared at her for a second before sighing. "It's not that I don't want you to be happy, you know I do. I just wish you would wait a few years. Once she's out of high school she'll be away from the wolves. You can change her then and risk nothing. I don't see why you can't wait. The whole situation infuriates me."

Alice's head dropped, shoulders sagging. She knew Rose was right – that waiting would eliminate any unnecessary risks. _'But I can't do it. I can't wait; I can't not be with her.'_ She searched for the words to articulate her feelings.

"We're creatures ruled by instinct and emotion," she told Rose. "You know this – it's what led you to Emmett, what compelled you to carry him hundreds of miles back to Carlisle. That same force has led me to Bella. I could no sooner walk away from her than you could leave Emmett, or Esme Carlisle." Alice paused, taking an unnecessary breath. "I never knew agony until the visions of Bella started. To see her, to love her, yet to be unable to be near her, touch her – it was maddening. And now that I've finally found her, that I finally have the chance to be with her…it would destroy me to walk away."

Rose looked away, her jaw clenched. Alice reached over and took her hand between both of hers. "Please Rose," she begged. "You can hate her, you can hate me, you can do whatever you want, just please, **please **try to understand."

She watched as Rosalie stared off into the distance. Alice couldn't read any sign that her emotional appeal had swayed her sister.

Finally, **finally**, Rose turned back to Alice. Her eyes swept over Alice's short frame before she frowned disapprovingly.

"You're not going to wear that on your first day are you?" she asked.

Relief flooded through Alice. She laughed and threw her arms around Rosalie, hugging her briefly. "Of course I wasn't going to wear this," she told her. "I was waiting for your stubborn ass to help me decide on an outfit. C'mon."

Edward watched the two females ascend the stairs, their earlier tension gone in the wake of sisterly bonding. He snorted when he heard Emmett's thoughts. Getting up from the chair he walked over to Emmett and snatched up the second controller. "Don't ask me," Edward told him. "I can read their minds and even I don't understand them."

.

.

Bella mentally checked off everything she needed for school for a third time.

She'd woken up at 5:30 and had been unable to fall back to sleep. After tossing around for a half hour she'd finally dragged herself out of bed and showered. Getting ready as slowly as possible and eating breakfast didn't do much to dwindle the time. The clock read 7:20. Still too early to drive the four miles down the road to the high school.

After pacing the floor for a few minutes Bella had made her way back up to her room. She'd been sitting on her bed for twenty minutes now, listening to her iPod and continually going over every possible scenario that could occur at school.

Her gaze fell to the window. The sky had turned from pitch black to dull gray – the only sign that morning had arrived. She hadn't decided yet if she missed the sun or not. On one hand it was refreshing to be able to step outside and not feel like she'd walked in to an oven. On the other hand it was incredibly difficult to get out of bed in the morning when the sky was drooped in cool, grey clouds.

Bella watched as a squirrel hopped around on the branches outside her window. She silently marveled at how perfect of a natural ladder the tree was. _'Well if I ever have a need to sneak out at night I'm golden,' _she thought.

Chills tingled up her spine as she continued to gaze out the window. A new realization came to mind. _'If anyone ever wants to get in, that tree's a one way road straight up to my window.'_

Her thoughts drifted back over the past few days – the unshakable feeling that someone, something, had been watching her. Following her.

Branches scratched against her window and the side of the house ominously. She imagined they were clawed hands, reaching out for her.

She shivered.

The alarm on her phone sounded, scaring her and scattering her thoughts. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest.

Reaching over to the stand beside her bed, Bella grabbed her phone and turned the alarm off.

7:45. Time to go.

.

.

Classes didn't start until 8:15.

Bella cruised down the road at a steady 45mph. Any faster and her truck began to shake violently. As a bonus the heater was broken, adding nicely to the fact that she'd yet to dig her coat out of whatever box she'd stored it in.

Topping it all off was the impossibly loud sound coming from under the hood. The roar of a small plane was probably quieter than noise of her engine as she slowly approached the small high school.

Getting closer to the school she could see that the parking lot was over half full.

"Damn it," she groaned, looking at the rows upon rows of filled lots. Students were milling around their vehicles talking to each other in droves.

She had thought that she'd left early enough to be one of the first to school. Her plan was to have enough time to get inside and learn her way around before the majority of students arrived. That way she'd be able to avoid the awkward looks and the embarrassment of walking around looking at a school map.

As she slowly pulled into the school it was apparent that her plan was ruined. People were staring and pointing as her engine screamed her arrival across the school property.

Bella's heart rate and breathing increased. Her pulse pounded in her ears blocking out any other sounds. She felt like she was going to have an anxiety attack. Pulling into an empty spot at the back of the parking lot, she killed the engine and leaned her forehead against the steering wheel.

'_Breathe, Bella. Relax, there's no reason to freak out. No one's going to do anything or say anything,' _she mentally told herself. _'Besides, your father is the chief of police. Anyone fucks with you, you can just get Charlie to give them a speeding ticket.'_

The image of her father chasing down all the teens in Forks and handing out random traffic violations made her chuckle. Her anxiety lessened until it was nothing more than first day nerves – easily manageable.

Taking one more deep breath Bella grabbed her bag and opened her door. Even though it was the first day of classes she had registered later than normal. She needed to go to the main office to pick up her class schedule and then navigate her way around the different buildings to her classes.

She squared her shoulders and hazarded a glance around. Grimacing, she began to walk towards the school buildings. It was as she had suspected – all eyes were on her, the new girl.

As she walked, Bella tried to keep her gaze focused on the ground. Curiosity got the better of her, however, and she quickly found herself looking around, taking in her surroundings.

Aside from its smaller size Forks High School didn't seem any different from her old school in Phoenix. She looked to her left and spotted older cars and trucks with typical kids milling around them, laughing and talking. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a Volvo, proving that their were also some well of kids in the district as well.

Bella began to fully relax as the reality that this was just another school with normal people began to set in.

The familiarity of high school comforted her as she looked around. Jocks were throwing footballs, girls were preening themselves for the jocks, a model was leaning up against a sports car, hipsters were riding around on skateboards…

Stopping, Bella's brain caught up with her eyes. _'High schools don't have models,' _she thought, looking to her right. Still, there she was. The most breathtakingly beautiful woman Bella had ever seen outside of a magazine or movie stood not fifty feet away, propped up against her car.

Frantically Bella looked around. No one else was staring at the girl. Blinking a few times, she hazarded a glance back over to the yellow car. She was still there.

'_She's too short to be a model,'_ she randomly thought.

Unabashedly, Bella stared.

While tiny, the young woman had a striking presence. Short black hair was shagged into a pixie cut, giving her the appearance of a nymph. Her features were sharp yet exceedingly soft at the same time. Her paleness only highlighted her attractiveness. She seemed to glow in an ethereal beauty.

Reluctantly Bella's eyes wandered down from the strangers face. _'She isn't even dressed like a teenager,'_ her mind observed.

Clothed in what had to be personally tailored black slacks and a long-sleeved white button-up, there was little doubt her attire was designer. Normal clothing didn't fit people that well.

Glancing down at her own attire, Bella felt herself flush embarrassedly. Sneakers, dark skinny jeans and a long-sleeved, fitted t-shirt that promoted Phoenix City Cycling didn't seem out of place with the surrounding teenagers, but next to the goddess before her Bella felt severely underdressed.

'_Quick!' _her mind shouted._ 'Get out of here before she spots you standing here gawking at her like some sort of a creep!'_

Naturally, the thought no sooner entered her mind than Bella found golden eyes staring back into her own.

Like a deer caught in headlights, she had no idea what to do. _'Should I smile and wave, go over and say hello, run like hell?'_

The last option sounded nice. She didn't think she'd have the courage to actually talk to the gorgeous creature that had so thoroughly caught her attention.

Her traitorous body didn't seem to agree. Of their own accord her feet began to carry her towards the sports car, and ultimately the beautiful girl who now stood smiling invitingly at her.

Desperately Bella tried to think of something to say once she got over to her.

She was closing in on the girl when someone stepped in front of her. A red and black letterman jacket obstructed her view. When it became apparent that whoever it was wasn't moving out of the way, Bella reluctantly looked up.

A boy with sandy blonde hair smiled down at her. "Hi, I'm Mike," he told her, holding out his hand.

Slowly, Bella reached out and shook his hand. "Isabella Swan," she said, politely smiling. "But call me Bella, please."

"Chief Swan's daughter?" he asked, smiling even wider when she nodded. "He and I go waaay back," he told her, comfortably falling into step next to her. "You heading towards the office?"

When he had moved Bella could once again see the sports car. Disappointment, so strong it surprised her, swept through her. The girl was gone.

"Bella?"

The guy, Mike, was talking to her. She had no idea what he'd said.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts of the mysterious girl, Bella focused back onto the conversation. "Sorry," she told him, smiling apologetically. "First day jitters. What'd you say?"

Nodding understandingly, Mike pointed offhandedly towards the school. "I was asking if you wanted some help finding the office."

She smiled. "Sure, Mike. That'd be great."

.

.

Alice watched in irritation as Mike led Bella towards the school. Her annoyance only increased as she watched her brother walk towards her, a gleeful smile on his face.

"Looks like it's Newton 1, Alice 0," Edward told her, reaching out and handing her her coat. "Here, you left this at the house this morning. Remember we've got appearances to keep. Rose would be furious if you started rumors on the first day back."

Alice snatched the coat out of his hand angrily. Edward laughed. "I've never seen you so put out," he teased. He nudged her with his shoulder, playfully ignoring the unfriendly thoughts she was sending his way. "Oh come on, there's always later on today. You'll get your shot."

Rolling her eyes, Alice was about to retort when a vision hit her. It lasted only seconds, but immediately boosted her mood. She looked over at Edward. He was shaking his head, still smiling.

"Looks like I've got a schedule to rearrange," she told him, skipping off towards the school.

"I'll see you at lunch!" she called back over her shoulder.

.

.

By lunch Bella had almost relaxed completely. It had turned out that Mike was a nice guy, and was friends with almost everyone in the school. He was in her Biology class, and had introduced her to Angela and Jessica, both who seemed nice.

They had all invited her to sit with them at lunch, and Bella was now sitting between Angela and a girl named Lauren, the latter who was dishing out the summer gossip to the rest of the table.

Covertly, Bella looked around the cafeteria. There was no sign of the girl from this morning. She was turning her attention back to her table when a collective silence seemed to fall over the room.

Looking around for the cause of the sudden lull in conversation, Bella's mouth slightly fell open when her gaze fell upon the people entering through the doors.

**She** had entered the room.

Bella's heart skipped a beat and then began double timing. She was amazed to see that along with the goddess from this morning, three other people, all equally as breathtaking, were with her.

She watched as they all walked together to the lunch line.

A voice next to her ear made her jump.

"Gorgeous, aren't they?"

She turned to see Lauren leaning close to her, her eyes on the group. "Who are they?" Bella asked her. If anyone would know she figured it would be the gossip queen.

Lauren's gaze momentarily flicked to Bella's before returning to the four teens. "They're the _Cullen's_," Lauren told her. She caught the spiteful undertone when Lauren said their name and wondered what they did to deserve it. Before she could ask Lauren continued.

"They're all adopted by Dr. Cullen. Apparently the blonde girl, Rosalie, and her brother, the one with the bronze hair, Edward, are related to his wife. Some accident their parents were in years ago left them with Mrs. Cullen as their only living relative. No one knows why they adopted Emmett, the huge one, and Alice, the short one. They've apparently all been with Mr. and Mrs. Cullen since they were little."

While listening, Bella made the connection between the Dr. Cullen Lauren was talking about and the handsome doctor who had treated her a few days ago. It seemed almost impossible that someone as young looking as Dr. Cullen could have teenagers for children. Before she could dwell further on the thought, she heard Lauren give a name to the angel she was so infatuated with.

All thoughts narrowed down to that one name.

Alice.

Dimly, she was aware that Lauren was still talking.

"…even bother with them. Evidently none of us are good enough for them to talk to. They've been here a year already and only talk to each other."

Bella easily caught the jealously in her tone. Idly she wondered which one Lauren had tried to talk to and been rejected by. Probably the bronze haired guy.

"I had a class with Alice last year. She seemed shy, but nice," Angela spoke softly next to Bella, as if she didn't want anyone else to overhear.

Returning her attention back to Alice, Bella let the name roll off her tongue in a whisper.

"Alice…"

As if she had shouted, Alice's head turned, her eyes locking onto Bella's.

They looked at each other for what felt like hours, until the bell rang, snapping Bella out of her stupor. She looked away from Alice. No one at the table was staring at her, so she must not have been looking for too long.

Bella looked back to the table Alice had been sitting at. It was empty. Looking around, she didn't spot her or her siblings anywhere.

"Coming Bella?" Angela was standing next to her, waiting.

"Yeah," Bella said, standing up and grabbing her tray. "I'm right behind you."

.

.

Sighing, Bella made her way to the last class of the day.

Home Economics.

'_It was this or shop class,'_ Bella reminded herself. And since power tools made her nervous, here she was.

All her other classes had had at least one person she'd met through Mike in them. Looking around, she didn't recognize anyone. Sitting herself down at an empty table, Bella waited.

The other tables filled with pairs of students who knew each other.

No one sat next to her.

The bell rang signaling the start of class. An older woman walked into the room, and judging by how everyone quieted down a notch, Bella guessed she was the teacher.

'_Point for me,'_ she thought as the woman started going through role call. Already this class was boring her to death.

After making sure everyone was present the teacher, Mrs. Post, instructed them to pair off with a member of the opposite sex.

Chairs scraped across the floor as people rushed to get next to their friends.

In a matter of seconds it was done.

Unsurprisingly, Bella was the only left without a partner.

The teacher frowned thoughtfully as she regarded Bella.

"I'm not quite sure what to do here," the teacher told her, looking around. "I specifically told them that I needed an even number of students on my roster for this year's project."

Bella sat there, positive that she looked as stupid as she felt. All of the other kids looked from her, to Mrs. Post, and then back to her as they waited for a decision.

The sound of the door opening thankfully pulled everyone's attention away from her.

Bella glanced over at the door before looking back at the teacher.

She did a double take, her head snapping back over at the newcomer.

Alice.

Alice Cullen had walked into the room.

She was walking over to her.

Bella watched in disbelief as Alice smiled at the teacher. "Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Post. Last minute schedule change." She handed a slip of paper to the educator before glancing down to where Bella sat.

Alice flashed her a smile.

Bella forgot how to breathe.

Mrs. Post sighed. "Very well then. Ms. Cullen you will be Ms. Swan's partner. I hope you two will act mature about this project and not behave like irresponsible three year olds."

"No ma'am," Alice promised sincerely.

Bella sat there looking confused. _'Be mature about what project?'_

Mrs. Post extended her hand towards Bella, motioning for Alice to sit down.

Bella couldn't stop from blushing. She diligently tried to ignore the gorgeous girl sitting next to her.

Walking up to the front of the room, the teacher turned and regarded the class.

"It would seem that lately people have begun to question the necessity of having a home economics class. Overall the assumption is that this course is used to teach the basics of sewing and cooking. This semester we're going to dispel that notion."

Mrs. Post paused, seeming to take satisfaction in the confused looks the students were giving her.

"Take a look at the person next to you," she told them. "This semester you and your partner are going to experience the first year of life as a married couple."

Laughs and murmurs filled the air excitedly.

Bella stared at the teacher unbelievingly.

Undaunted, Mrs. Post continued. "You and your partner will be given real life scenarios to which you will have to adapt to. You will plan your wedding, your living arrangements, your budget, everything that a real couple would. Tomorrow we will draw names to randomly decide jobs, which we will then use to calculate each couple's budget. For the rest of the class you and your partner will decide your background and history as a couple. I want you to have fun with this, but I also want you to take this seriously. This could benefit you someday down the road."

The class irrupted into conversation as soon as she stopped talking.

Slowly, Bella turned to find Alice smiling at her tentatively.

"You don't mind being domestic partners with me, do you?" she asked Bella.

Bella couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "Well it's a little rushed for my liking, but ok."

Alice's smile widened. "Alice Cullen," she introduced herself, holding her hand out to Bella. "I'm a cover stealer."

Bella's smile matched Alice's. She reached out and took Alice's hand in her own, shivering in delight at the coolness against her fingers. "Bella Swan," she told her. "I drool in my sleep."

Alice's laugh rang like bells across the room. It seemed so familiar to Bella, yet she couldn't place it.

"Well Bella," Alice told her, scooting her chair closer so that she was only six inches away, "it's very nice to be married to you."

.

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	5. Going Under

**Start with fluff, end with angst.**

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It was Friday.

Bella had never imagined that school would become fun, but she had to admit the weekend didn't hold quite the same sway of freedom that it used to.

Looking over at her Home Ec. partner, it wasn't hard to guess the cause of the sudden change in perception.

Alice was…simply amazing. Bella didn't understand why everyone thought she was shy or strange. _'It has to be her looks,' _she thought, stealthily sneaking a glance at her partner. _'It's unnerving how gorgeous they all are.'_

It had taken her a few days to adjust to looking over and seeing something so unnaturally beautiful next to her. Sometimes she would still feel dazed if Alice popped out of nowhere, but if she had a few minutes to prepare herself she found that her normal human speech capabilities kicked back into gear.

It comforted her that everyone seemed to have the same reaction to all the Cullen's. The first time that Alice had stopped by their lunch table to ask Bella something about class Mike had been left incoherent for at least five minutes.

To Bella Alice was infectious, magnetic. If she was in the room, Bella's eyes seemed drawn to her. When Alice was next to her, Bella constantly found herself leaning towards her. She'd never had a crush on someone, had never felt the pull of attraction to any gender. Yet she couldn't deny that something inside her was attracted to Alice. Some part of her wanted Alice.

Badly.

It was disheartening to see how unaffected Alice was.

Alice would laugh, talk openly, be everything a friend should be – but that was all. She never blushed, never fidgeted around Bella – was never anything but a very good, very platonic friend.

'_It's only been a week,'_ Bella told herself. _'Maybe she's normal and doesn't immediately get infatuated with someone. Or maybe she doesn't like women like that.' _She frowned, the mental implications that her crush could be one-sided not sitting well.

Looking over at Alice again, Bella noticed the young woman was pouting. She looked for all the world like someone had just ran over her puppy.

She couldn't help it – she laughed. Her personal concerns vanished from her mind as she took in the tragically depressed demeanor of her partner.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at Alice. "Someone tell you Santa isn't real?"

Alice rewarded her humor with a deep scowl. "This project sucks," she told Bella.

Remorse filled Bella's chest, constricting her lungs and knotting her stomach.

"If you'd rather have a different partner I could say something to Mrs. Post," she told Alice, desperately trying to keep her voice level. She looked away, willing the rejection to lessen. The acceleration of her breathing served as a warning sign – tears were dangerously close. Bella set her jaw, determined that if she were going to feel anything it would be anger. Anger was a safe emotion. Anger wouldn't tell Alice how desperately attached she was to her.

"What are you talking about? I love having you as a partner."

Relief so swift it left her feeling boneless swept through her. Bella slouched back into her chair and looked over at Alice, bewildered. "Then what sucks?"

Alice was frowning again. She idly waved her hand towards the front of the class. "The jobs suck."

More confusion. "We haven't been given jobs yet. We get to draw them today, remember?"

Alice sighed severely.

'_She should be an actress, she's certainly good at dramatizing things,'_ Bella noted.

"We're not going to draw our jobs," Alice told her. "Mrs. Post is. She's just going to call our names, reach in, and poof, whatever she pulls out we're stuck with."

Clearly Bella was missing something. She raised an eyebrow at Alice. "…So?"

"So I'm going to get the stupidest job there is! Unrealistically stupid."

"You don't know that," Bella told her. "It's random, you have just as good of a chance to get a great job."

Alice glanced over at Bella sullenly. "Trust me, I'll get a crap job. I know."

Bella felt the faintest tickles of irritation beginning to form. Alice was simply being impossible now. "How do you know, are you psychic?"

Apparently she hadn't been very successful in keeping the exasperation out of her voice. Alice had looked slightly surprised for a second when Bella had said the words, but was now regarding her appraisingly.

"Yes," she finally told Bella, her face serious. "Yes, I am."

Seconds passed as the two stared at each other. Bella cracked first. She snorted, Alice laughed.

"Right," she told Alice. "And I can turn invisible at will."

Alice smiled roguishly, "That could be pretty fun in public places."

Bella blushed furiously. _'She doesn't mean it like __**that**__,'_ she scolded herself.

Before the she could form a response, the teacher walked in. Mrs. Post walked up to the front of the class and set a jar full of scraps of paper onto a nearby desk. "Alright," she started, looking around at all the students. "Today I'm going to randomly assign you jobs. These will be your jobs for the rest of the semester. There will be no quitting or trading jobs. You will have the rest of the period to reconcile your earnings with your partner's earnings. By Monday you will be need to have your back-story prepared. This means how you two met, your living arrangements, vehicle payments, bills, everything you would need to know in a real life situation. You will be graded on this so I suggest you take it seriously."

Bella glanced around the room. A few people were whispering to each other, a few were taking notes. She looked over at Alice – she was sulking again.

"Alright when I call your names, come up and I'll give you your job."

"Baker, Ashley."

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"A trash collector!"

Bella tried not to laugh. She knew from her earlier failure to withhold her humor that it would only upset Alice more.

"It's not so bad," Bella told her as they walked out of the school. "At least you make $30,000 a year."

Alice looked at her, unmoved. "Easy for you to say, Ms. Accountant who makes $55,000 annually."

Bella nudged her with her shoulder. "Come on, quit being such a drama queen. It's just for class, no one thinks you'd ever end up as a garbage woman."

For a few minutes Alice said nothing. They walked in a slightly uncomfortable silence until finally Alice smiled. "Alright, you're right. Sorry I've been so occupied with it. I'll just have to look at the bright side. At least you making more money than me has its perks."

"Like?"

"Like the huge engagement ring you're going to buy for me," Alice told her cheerfully. She looped her arm around Bella's and steered them towards Bella's truck as her companion laughed.

Alice's gaze rested on the scrap pile with wheels. "When are you getting rid of this thing?" she asked Bella.

"Apparently never," Bella sighed. "Charlie thinks I like it. He's so proud of his gift that he makes daily comments about how great it is that I have a truck for the winter."

The truck screamed in protest as Bella opened the door and threw her book bag across the cab. Turning back to Alice she tried to seem nonchalant. "So what are you up to this weekend?" she asked.

Alice shrugged. "Just doing some housework. I promised Esme I'd help her rearrange the upstairs and do some landscaping. Why? What're you doing?"

Bella leaned back against her truck and surveyed the parking lot. It was quickly emptying. All week Alice and her had remained talking in the school lot long after the other students had left.

"I'm going to get my homework done tonight for the most part. Carlisle gave me the ok to ride again once my road rash and bruising had pretty much healed, so tomorrow I'm going to log some hours in on my bike. I feel pretty lazy not riding at all this week so I broke down and put my Zip wheels on my bike."

Alice nodded but didn't say anything. Any hope that Bella had that Alice would keep the ball rolling with the weekend conversation quickly fanned out. Bella gathered her courage. _'Guess I'll just have to bite the bullet.'_

"What are you doing on Sunday?" she asked Alice.

The smaller woman smiled slyly and leaned next to Bella.

"I don't know; why don't you tell me?"

Bella mentally congratulated herself on her bravery. "You want to get together? You can come over to my place if you'd like. We can go over our project."

Alice nodded, still smiling. "That sounds great. I'll give you a call Sunday."

Slowly Alice pushed away from the truck, walking backwards. "I should get going, Esme pitches a fit when we're late for dinner. I bet Charlie will start to worry about you too if you're not back soon."

Bella nodded and went to get in her truck. "Yeah I should get going too. I'll see you Sunday."

Alice waved, "You bet. Bye Bella, be careful tomorrow."

Nodding, Bella waved and began to climb in her truck. Alice's voice ringing across the parking lot stopped her midway.

"Oh, and Bella?"

She looked over to where Alice was standing. "Yeah?"

"There's supposed to be a bad storm tomorrow night. Park your truck beneath a tree. You might get lucky."

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.

The sound of her breath and the wheels on the asphalt was all the noise Bella heard. She'd been riding for a few hours through the hills along the coast. Having never ridden down this road before Bella was hyper sensitive of the pavement below her wheels.

Charlie had suggested she take this route when she told him she was going to ride. Apparently the road led to La Push – where Charlie would be fishing at until the afternoon.

Bella pedaled faster. Her legs ached, her lungs burned. It always amazed her at how quickly her body forgot the routine of riding when she didn't consistently ride every day.

Over to her left, she heard the faint snapping of branches. Apparently her stalker had returned and decided it didn't care to be discreet. The prickling feeling of being watched crawled up her spine. Bella didn't recall ever feeling this apprehensive but she waved it off. It'd been a week since she'd last been on the road.

'_I've just forgotten what it feels like,' _she told herself. _'I'll stop up here, get a drink, take a look around.'_

As she slowed to a stop, she unclipped her shoes from her pedals and looked around. The scenery was beautiful. It was hard to appreciate when she was riding, but now that she was off the bike she could take a break and enjoy the surrounding landscape.

The trees along the side of the road were huge. Bella looked up at the old growth, amazed at how far they stretched up into the sky.

'_Almost like they're caging me in.'_

At that thought, the forest got thicker. The sky seemed to darken. Bella glanced around herself, her pulse quickening.

The forest had gone silent again.

This time it wasn't simply odd – it was terrifying.

Branches cracked to her left – her head snapped in the direction.

She could make out a form swiftly running away from her, deeper into the woods.

'_It's a person,'_ she realized. She grabbed her bike and dragged it with her, determined to chase after the figure. _'Maybe it's whoever's been following me.'_

She stumbled once she got into the tree line. The foliage was thick. She leaned her bike up against one of the trees and took off, sprinting in the direction the stranger had disappeared in.

After five minutes of stumbling and tripping over tree roots Bella stopped. Bending forward, she rested her hands on her knees and tried to regain her breath. She looked back – the road had been lost to the forest. There was no sound in front of her.

She had lost whomever she was chasing.

Now, she was lost.

'_Don't panic. Just turn around and go back the way you came. Go quickly and quietly.'_

Straining her ears, she listened for any signs that someone or something was near.

Silence.

She turned to head back – and came within inches of running into Jake.

Bella opened her mouth to scream, but Jake quickly pressed his hand over her mouth.

"Bella, relax! It's me! It's Jake. You're alright."

She pushed his hand away roughly and took a few steps back. "Jake! What the fuck? It was you?"

Jake looked at her, confused. "What was me?"

Her eyes narrowed in anger. "Don't give me that bullshit. It was you, wasn't it? Following me, watching me. How else would you be in the exact same place I am? We're in the middle of the woods. It was you I was chasing."

Bella stepped up to him and poked her finger into his chest roughly. "You just wait until Charlie hears about this. He'll slap a restraining order on your ass so fast you won't even have time to blink!"

She pushed past him and started walking back towards what she assumed was the direction of the road.

A hand on her forearm stopped her. She tried to yank out of Jake's grasp, but his grip was iron.

"Bella listen to me," Jake began, staring her down. "I have no idea what you mean about being followed. About a hundred yards from here is a small lake. Charlie, my father, and me have been there all morning fishing. I left to head home and I heard something crashing through the forest. I came to see what it was and I found you. That's all I know, and your father can corroborate my story."

Slowly, Jake's words began to sink in. But she didn't feel comforted. _'If it wasn't Jake, then whoever it was is still out there…'_

She tugged on Jake's arm. "Jake, we need to get out of here. There's something in the woods. Something's been following me."

Jake allowed her to pull his reluctant form forward a few steps. "Nothing will harm you here Bella. This part of the woods is safe. There's nothing…" he paused, searching for the right words. "There's nothing dangerous on this part of the land."

Bella looked at him like he was crazy. "Jake, I chased whoever it was. They ran into these woods. They are somewhere on Quillete land."

She watched as Jake stopped and looked around. He tilted his head, listening.

The next thing Bella was aware of was being pulled through the trees. "Jake! Slow down!"

"You need to get out of here Bella. Go home, stay away from the woods like I told you."

The sound of something big crashing behind them cut off any thoughts of reply. Bella began to pump her legs, trying to keep up with Jake's fast stride.

Suddenly she crashed into Jake's back.

He had stopped, she hadn't.

In some part of her mind Bella noted that he barely swayed when her full weight rammed into him.

"What's the hurry, Jake?"

Bella's blood ran cold. Whoever had been chasing them was standing in front of Jake. She peered around his side.

Standing about four feet away was a young Native American. Like Jake he was only wearing shorts. He stood a head shorter than Jake with closely cropped hair. Something about him made her skin crawl.

"Hey Quil. No hurry, just helping my friend get back to her bike. She got lost."

Quil nodded, his gaze sliding over Bella appreciatively. "I'll bet she did."

Jake pushed Bella further behind him. "There any reason you're all the way out here?"

Quil's eyes flicked back up to Jake. "Sam wanted me to come find you. He wants to talk to you."

Bella had slowly eased her way out from behind Jake to stand beside him. She met Jake's gaze as he nodded absentmindedly to Quil. "Sure, sure. Just let me get Bella back to the road and I'll be right there."

Quil stepped forward; Bella stepped back. "No need. I'll help her find her way," he said, leering wolfishly at Bella.

Frantically, Bella searched for something to defend herself.

"No."

Quil and Bella's head snapped over to Jake. He was standing defensively and staring at Quil.

Quil laughed. "Didn't you hear me, pup? Sam has ordered you to back to the village. Immediately."

Jake remained motionless. "And I said no."

'_Quick, do something!'_ Bella's hands slid along her sides. She moved them to her back, and felt something hard. Something was in her back jersey pocket. Slowly she reached into the pocket to find what it was.

Quil took a few steps towards Jake. "You know what you're doing?" he asked, his voice a low growl.

Jake's eye narrowed. "Yes."

Quil started towards him again, before crying out and crumbling to the ground.

Bella stood over him, the can of mace held out in front of her.

Jake was completely taken off guard. He looked over at Bella, his expression of surprise and wonder. "Bella that was…"

An angry cry from Quil cut him off. He was still on the ground rubbing his eyes.

'_He looks like he's having a seizure,'_ Bella thought, watching as the young man began to shake.

Jake ran over and pushed her to the right. "Run, Bella! Run!"

The fear in his voice motivated her. The reasoning didn't matter; Bella knew something was terribly wrong.

She turned and ran, blindly weaving her way around trees and shrubs. Branches and thorns scratched at her arms and legs.

An enraged howl echoed behind her.

Bella stumbled and fell to her knees. She held her breath and listened.

Silence.

And then…

The sound of falling branches and growls reached her. Somewhere behind her something was heading her way.

After her.

Quickly.

Bella lurched to her feet and threw herself forward. There was a break in the tree line. She saw the road a hundred yards ahead of her. She pushed herself to go faster, fighting the growing urge to collapse to the forest floor and curl into a massive whimpering ball.

Her lungs hurt. Her legs felt weak.

Fifty yards to go.

She could hear something growling as the sound of crashing undergrowth grew closer.

'_I'm not going to make it,'_ she thought. Defeat began to creep into her mind. Her legs slowed.

"Bella run!"

Her head snapped up, her heart soared. She knew that voice. _'But how…'_

Alice stood on the road, yelling at her.

"Hurry Bella! Run to me! Don't look back! Run!"

Adrenaline surged through her. She could hear the pounding steps of whatever was chasing her closing in.

With her last ounce of strength Bella launched herself onto the road and into Alice's arms. She didn't know what made her think she'd be safe – that whatever it was wouldn't just cross the road and destroy them both – but she felt herself collapse against Alice. The coldness of her friend's body felt heavenly against Bella's flushed skin.

"Shh, Bella you're ok. I've got you. Don't cry. Please, don't cry," Alice begged, rocking Bella back and forth in her arms.

Vaguely, Bella realized she was crying. And that whatever had been within feet of chasing her down had vanished. She gripped Alice more tightly and buried her head in her shoulder.

It would be a long time before she let go.

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Alice paced the kitchen floor furiously. The rest of her family sat at the kitchen table in different states of unease. Never had they seen Alice this upset.

"He was this close, **this close**, to breaking the treaty," she seethed, holding her index finger and thumb an inch apart.

"But he didn't actually cross the line or hurt Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"No, but the intent was there! If she were three feet further back she'd be dead! His own pack mate had to drag him off!"

Edward frowned, watching the events from earlier that afternoon play through Alice's mind. "She's right," he said, carefully forming his words. "Treaty and oath aside, the wolf was out to kill." He looked over at Carlisle. "It seems the young ones are more unstable than we thought."

Carlisle frowned, but said nothing.

Emmett looked from Carlisle, to Edward, to Alice, and back to Carlisle. "So we call foul and attack, right?" He looked around excitedly. "Right?"

Alice nodded in agreement. She personally wanted to get a hold of the dog that had chased down Bella. _'I'll whisper her name to him as I skin him alive.' _Dark visions of revenge filled her mind.

Edward winced at Alice's thoughts. "Lets think about this calmly for a moment, please?"

Carlisle nodded in agreement. "I agree. We must not rush and do anything rash."

"He tried to kill her!" Alice yelled, grabbing her hair in frustration. It had taken over an hour for Bella to calm down. The emotional drain it had put on the woman she loved had left Alice raw, feral.

"The treaty was not broken, they are not foresworn." Carlisle's voice was firm. "Whatever his intentions were, they weren't realized. There is nothing we can do. I will request a meeting with their Alpha to discuss the recklessness of their cubs."

Esme rose from the table and walked over to Alice. Gently she placed her hand on Alice's shoulder. "Remember what it was like in the first months. We all went through the newborn phase. The wolves are no different than we are in that respect." Her voice was soft, convincing.

Alice rebelled against it. She wanted to hold on to her anger, not understand and sympathize with the creature that had tried to kill Bella.

"Alice…" Rose started to say.

Raising her hands in defeat, Alice sighed. "I won't do anything rash. I won't go near the border. Carlisle can talk to them."

"Thank you," Carlisle said, satisfied.

The meeting finished, people began to go back to their collective hobbies. The room cleared until it was just Emmett and Alice.

"I'd have gone with you," Emmett told her, leaning back in his chair. "Anything ever tried to attack Rose I'd be all over them."

Alice smiled appreciatively. "Thanks Em."

She looked around for something to do. Her emotions were still wired. _'I should hunt. Killing something might make me relax.'_

The distant sound of thunder gave her a different idea altogether.

Turning to Emmett, Alice flashed him a smile. "Wanna me help destroy a truck?"

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The crash of lightning woke Bella.

She shot up in bed, heart racing.

'_It's just the storm.'_

Her sleep had been troubled. Flashes of trees and snapping teeth had filled her dreams.

Reaching over, she turned the switch on her nightstand's lamp.

Darkness greeted her.

'_Great, power's out. _

Never one to be scared of the dark, Bella threw back her covers and slid out of bed. Earlier Charlie had been called back in to work. Apparently the storm was worse than they had anticipated. He'd told her that candles were in the bathroom and to call the station if anything went wrong.

"Ow! Shit!"

She reached down and grabbed her foot. She had slammed her toe against the door ledge of her bedroom.

Cursing her way into the bathroom, she opened the cabinet below the sink and felt around for candles. Grabbing a few, and the box of matches next to them, Bella carefully made her way back to her bedroom. The lightning was crashing down more frequently. It seemed like the house itself was shaking from the impact. Her room lit every few seconds with the brilliant white light, momentarily illuminating the darkened house.

Walking over to the window, Bella looked outside. The wind was blowing so hard the rain seemed to be falling sideways. It was hard to see beyond the tree in front of her window. Squinting, Bella could see that branches littered the lawn.

A bolt of lightning slammed down close to the house. Bella jumped back from the window, her heart in her throat. She felt the vibrations of the impact ring through her body. There was a groaning sound from outside and then a loud crash.

Bella leaned against the glass, squinting to see outside.

Shadows moved across the lawn.

A familiar tingle raced up her spine. Ignoring her mental reminder about this morning's events, Bella raced for the stairs.

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Emmett laughed as he pushed against the giant Douglas fir. He loved when he got to use his strength for something besides hunting.

"A little to the left, Em." Alice motioned him over, eyeing the trajectory the tree would take to the ground.

Emmett shifted slightly and then pushed. The roots of the tree went deep – he actually had to use some force.

Roots snapped and the tree leaned. With one final push it started to fall.

Metal ripped apart like tissue paper. The tree had decimated the truck – landing across the hood and cab it caved the exterior and destroyed the engine.

Alice smiled viciously. _'There's no way the wolf can fix this,'_ her mind crooned triumphantly.

Emmett took the opportunity to further destroy the vehicle.

The sound of a front door opening caught Alice's attention. She looked over at Emmett.

He smiled, "I'll see you at home?

Alice nodded and the next second he was gone. She crouched down among the broken branches of the fallen tree. The rain still poured heavily. She wouldn't be seen.

Bella rounded the corner of the house, her clothes and hair soaked. She stopped at the side of the house and looked around, her breathing labored.

A low growl started to form from somewhere deep inside Alice's chest. Her eyes darkened as she watched Bella's chest rise and fall with her breathes. The wet shirt clung to her like a second skin, highlighting taunt muscles and the gentle slope of Bella's breasts, her nipples hard from the cold rain.

Vision Bella had nothing on real Bella.

Alice felt the tightening of things below her navel. Her fingers dug into the branches around her, easily crushing them in her grasp.

She watched Bella walk closer to the truck and fallen fir.

Wet, vulnerable, beautiful.

Alice moaned softly.

She jumped from her cover and streaked across the yard, making sure to go slow enough for Bella to see.

Looking back she whispered, "Follow me."

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Bella stood in the rain, staring at what used to be her truck. The rain was painfully freezing, making her gasp for air.

There was something in the yard. She couldn't see it, but she could feel it. It was the same feeling she'd had when she'd wrecked her bike.

Slowly she walked closer to the destroyed truck.

The lightning had begun to ease, the flashes of light becoming less and less frequent. Total darkness was beginning to settle over everything – the rain effectively blocking out any light from the sky.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw something streak across the yard.

Turning, Bella caught the pale outline of something moving across the back field towards the forest.

She took a step forward.

And then hesitated.

'_Do I really want to do this?'_ she asked herself. She knew intimately that there would be no turning back if she followed.

Looking down, she took in her soaked shirt, shorts, and muddy socks. Hypothermia would be a real risk if she got lost.

Hesitating, she considered her options.

Seconds passed.

Bella started jogging towards the forest.

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.

Alice stood on a high branch, watching Bella run towards the forest. She knew she would come to her, just as Alice would have followed her.

Bella ran into the forest, blinding heading in no particular direction.

Silently Alice followed, jumping from tree to tree, always keeping Bella within sight.

Finally the younger girl stopped.

Alice watched as Bella frantically turned in circles, blindly searching for what she couldn't see. There was no light in the forest and Alice made no sound.

The predator in her crooned with delight at its prey's helplessness.

Gracefully she jumped to the ground and closed the distance between them. The pounding of Bella's heart rang through the air like the beating of a war drum. Alice inhaled deeply, taking Bella's scent as far into her lungs as she could.

Faintly the smell of arousal reached her senses.

Unconsciously Alice started growling.

.

.

Bella couldn't see anything.

She stood, frozen in place where she'd stopped running. Going back wouldn't help; she didn't know what direction the house was in.

The hairs rose on her arms. Something was watching her.

Shivers of pleasure raced up her spine.

Somewhere to her left something began to growl.

Fear overwhelmed her.

'_Humans don't growl.'_

Whatever she had imagined might be with her in the forest vanished.

'_I'm going to die out here.'_

She imagined Charlie finding her in the woods, torn apart by some wild animal. Shame at her foolishness beset her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something grabbing her hair and pulling her head back until she was looking up towards the sky. She opened her mouth to scream.

A cold, hard mass slid against her body. Fingers grasped her hip. Lips gently ghosted across her collarbone.

Bella's scream came out a whimper.

She allowed herself to be walked backwards until she felt the bark of a tree biting into her back.

Her arms reached out to feel what had her pinned.

Rough cloth. _'Denim.' _

She felt higher.

Thin cotton. _'To thin for a man's shirt.'_

Higher still.

Short, choppy hair. _'Alice.'_

"Alice," she moaned, gripping the hair tightly in both fists.

Teeth scraped across her neck in response.

Bella's grip tightened, yanking Alice's head towards her own desperately.

Cool lips touched hers.

She gasped at the sensation, groaning when Alice's tongue slowly licked across her bottom lip.

"Alice…"

Arms circled each of her thighs. Effortlessly Alice lifted Bella, stepping in between her legs as Bella wrapped them tightly around her waist.

Slowly Alice ground herself against Bella.

Both moaned, their lips seeking each others again.

Bella felt like she was falling. Desire coursed through her – racing down her chest and pooling between her legs. She was reckless, wanton with desire. Desperately she thrust her hips up against Alice.

Alice's hand slid under her shirt, lightly caressing her abdomen.

Slowly….

Slowly…

Alice's hand traveled lower, fingertips drawing obscure patterns across her skin.

Bella felt light-headed as fingers slipped past the waistband of her shorts.

She forgot how to breathe as delicate fingers slid against her wetness – touching, exploring.

The last thing Bella remembered was the breathy moan of Alice against her ear.

"Bella…"

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**I've got to stop making these chapters so long. I'm mentally exhausted.**

**Sorry that I'm crap with responding to all your reviews. I do appreciate all of them.**

**I adore you for taking your time to respond. **


	6. Rock with You

**You all thought I'd abandoned this, didn't you? My 300-400 level classes keep me booked – but rest assured, this story will go on.**

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Slowly the light coaxed Bella awake. She felt groggy, worn. The warm cocoon her blankets formed beckoned her back to sleep.

She drifted between wake and dream. Scenes filtered through her haze.

Riding her bike.

Being chased.

Alice comforting her.

Alice at her house.

In the rain.

In the woods.

Inhumanly fast.

Inhumanly quiet.

Inhumanly strong.

Inhuman.

Eyes still closed, Bella groaned. "You better be in here," she spoke into the silence.

Seconds ticked by.

The mattress dipped as something crawled towards her. Blankets were pulled back as Alice nimbly slid into the bed behind her. The coolness of Alice's skin seeped into Bella's overheated one, making her sigh in appreciation. Agile fingers spread across her hip; cool breath fell against her neck. The familiarity of it shocked Bella's senses.

"You've been following me."

It was a statement and Alice treated it as such. She said nothing.

Lips ghosted across Bella's neck. Thought and rationale began to drift from her mind as she felt Alice's hand trail up her ribs and begin to lightly caress the curve of her breast.

Bella's breath escaped in a sigh.

Alice's response was caught between a growl and a purr. It pulled Bella back to reality.

She reached up and placed her hand over Alice's – stilling the movement but not pulling her hand away.

"You're not human."

Silence.

"Alice…"

"No, I'm not."

It felt like she was falling. Her heart picked up, her mouth went dry. Bella's perception of reality uncomfortably shifted. Everything she had once dismissed as unreal now brimmed with possibilities.

One of those possibilities was slowly coaxing Bella to turn over onto her back.

She allowed Alice to roll her over. Apprehension warred with excitement as Alice slowly moved until she was straddled across Bella's waist. Gently, Alice took Bella's wrists into her hands and pinned them next to her head.

Staring into the golden depths of Alice's eyes, Bella scanned her memories for clues.

"_What is she?"_

_._

_._

Alice gazed at Bella. Every second a new snippet of possibilities flashed into Alice's mind. The woman beneath her was frantically flipping through every possible supernatural creature in existence.

'_I've got to stop this before my head explodes.'_

She tightened her grip on Bella's wrists, forcing the young human's attention back to herself. Slowly, she slid her body down Bella's until she was lying fully on top of her. The feel of the warm body beneath her was distracting; her thoughts began to stray from giving explanations and moved to more physical conversations. A steady mantra began playing in the back of her mind. _'Mate, mate, mate, mate, mate…' _

Bella squirmed under her, her breasts and thighs pressing more firmly up against Alice.

_Naked, their bodies were intimately entwined. Alice sat on the bed; Bella straddled her, her legs wrapped around the vampire's waist. Bella's head was thrown back as Alice nipped and licked across her skin. Cool hands slowly slid between warm thighs. _

"Alice?"

The breathy whisper brought her back from the vision.

Looking down, she saw her black eyes reflected in green. Deliberately, she pressed a thigh between Bella's legs and ground against her. Bella moaned and arched up off the bed, forcing their bodies even closer.

She watched as Bella tried to control her breathing, her cheeks flushed, an embarrassed smile touching her lips.

"I've never…" Bella started to say, then broke off, looking away. She took a few seconds before looking back to Alice. "I've never done anything before. With anyone." Gently, her thumb rubbed against Alice's fingers. "Only you."

Tenderness replaced passion; guilt settled closely behind.

'_She's being incredibly sweet and understanding, and you're acting like some crazed rutting vampire,' _Alice berated herself.

Repositioning herself so that she lay next to Bella on her side, Alice propped herself up on her elbow. She lightly traced her fingers over Bella's face.

"I've waited a long time for you."

"How long?"

"…Around 90 years, give or take a few."

"Are you immortal?"

"So far, yes."

"What are you?"

"Vampire."

Alice watched as the truth settled into Bella's mind. Disbelief, fear, curiosity – all were present. It was just a matter of which would be the most dominant.

Bella kept her gaze locked with Alice's.

"Are you going to eat me?"

Alice wolfishly grinned.

Bella rolled her eyes and playfully smacked her.

The tension eased.

Leaning over, Alice gently kissed Bella's shoulder. "I would never harm you." She smiled as Bella reached up and ran her fingers through her hair.

"It's strange," Bella began, still playing with Alice's hair. "I feel so connected to you. I think…I know you wouldn't hurt me. I just…" she shrugged. "Safety first, you know?"

Alice smiled and nodded. "It's a very practical question to ask a vampire."

Bella laughed. "So what about stakes? And coffins? Will you fry to a crisp in the sun?"

It was Alice's turn to roll her eyes. "Please. Other than other supernatural creatures, and ultimately fire, we're indestructible. We don't sleep, and the sun refracts off our skin."

"Refract sunlight? Like a mirror?"

"More like the sparkle of a diamond."

Alice looked on curiously as Bella broke into fits of giggles. "I'm sorry," she said, her laughter tapering off. "I just got the mental image of Emmett sparklingly all prettily. I couldn't help it."

Relief flooded through Alice. Amazingly, Bella had taken everything in perfect stride. She leaned over and kissed her, sighing as the last of her apprehension faded as Bella eagerly responded. Her mind howled its approval.

'_Wait a second…'_

Alice pulled back.

Bella looked up at her, confused. "What's wrong?"

Alice shook her head, holding up her index finger. She strained her ears.

There it was again.

The faint howl of a wolf rose and faded in the distance.

The hairs on her neck rose.

She scanned her and Bella's future.

Nothing.

Jumping out of bed, Alice frantically grabbed for her phone.

Edward picked up on the first ring.

"Alice?"

"The wolves are coming to Bella's."

"We're on our way."

Hanging up, Alice turned back to Bella. Her mind raced for some sort of plan that would buy them time. Idly she stared at the smooth expanse of skin that showed around Bella's collar. When she had fainted last night Alice had carried her back and dressed her in the largest shirt she could possibly find. Her eyes were drawn to Bella's pulse point – she could see the skin moving as her blood thudded underneath it.

Slowly, a plan began to form.

"Alice?"

She zoned back in. Bella had moved off the bed and was standing in front of her.

"What's going on? What were you saying about wolves?"

The howling was getting closer.

Alice wrapped an arm around Bella's waist and pulled her roughly against her body.

"I promise I'll explain everything, but right now I need you to trust me. Can you do that? Do you trust me?"

Bella hesitated for only a second. "With my life."

Alice smiled briefly.

"Good. Now take your shirt off."

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**Update by/on next weekend. Promise. And I'll start responding to reviews so you won't think I don't appreciate you all. **


	7. Causing a Commotion

**So I'm dicking around with another story, but this is still my priority. And you should know by now that I love cliffhangers. This story might as well take place in the mountains with how many cliffs it'll have. I have to leave you wanting.**

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Despite the situation, Bella laughed.

"What?"

"Take your shirt off."

"Why?"

"I need you to wrap the sheet around yourself."

"Why does that require my shirt to be off?"

"Because we need to make it look like we've been having sex."

"…"

Alice sighed in frustration. "I thought you said you trusted me."

Bella's eyes shifted nervously. "I do. I just…wasn't prepared for you to ask me to strip."

She tightened her hold on Bella, pulling her closer until her whole front was tightly pressed against her own. "Who do you think changed your clothes last night?"

On any other morning, in any other circumstance, the blush that rose on Bella's cheeks would have been alluring. At the moment, however, Alice was more concerned with saving their lives than admiring her mate. Abruptly she released Bella and began pulling the top sheet off the bed. "Take your shirt off, Bella."

She held up the sheet. Bella stared at it. Impatience took over.

"Look, in about two minutes a pack of shape-shifting wolves are going to be here. Now they're either after you or they're after me. I haven't done anything to provoke them, and an attack on anyone in my family means war. That means that they're more than likely here for you, and the only reason the wolves track down humans are for mates. So, unless you want to be forced into being mated to a wolf, take off your damn shirt!"

Bella blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. She started undressing.

Alice released the breath she'd been holding. For a second she had been afraid she was going to have to force Bella to undress. Not that she was opposed to the idea, but under the current circumstances she figured Bella wouldn't appreciate it.

The howling outside grew louder.

'_Only a few more minutes.'_

She ran her hands through her short hair, purposely trying to send it into even further disarray. Bella was standing next to window, watching her. It was difficult to place the look on her face.

'_She's probably scared shitless, idiot. First she learns vampires are real, and ten minutes later you tell her shape shifters might be coming to kidnap her.'_

The light touch of fingertips against her jaw surprised her. Never one to be caught unaware, it was disconcerting how often Bella had been able to appear and disappear without notice. Alice hadn't even seen her begin to move.

Bella was staring at her, the look on her face still unreadable.

"Why do we need to look like we've been having sex?"

"If they think I've claimed you, that we've…consummated our relationship, then they can't take you. If I've marked you as mine you can be no others."

Alice's eyes darkened as Bella let the sheet fall from her shoulders.

"Marked me, how?"

Unconsciously her tongue ran over her fangs. Venom pooled in her mouth as Bella slowly began running her fingers down her sides. She swallowed thickly.

"A blood rite."

Bella nodded. She leaned in even closer, her nose gently brushing against Alice's cheek, her arms winding around her waist.

"I'm not bleeding, Alice. If these guys are anything like regular wolves, won't they smell that?"

Quickly, Alice took a step back. Her knees hit the edge of the bed. _'She's lost her mind.'_

"I'm not biting you."

Bella moved closer. "You don't want to mark me?"

"Of course I do. But I don't want to kill you."

Alice allowed Bella to push her into a sitting position on the bed. She didn't even try to stop the low growl that escaped as Bella straddled her. Teeth gently scraped against her ear; her eyes rolled back in her head.

"I don't want to be some wolf's bitch," Bella whispered in her ear. "You won't hurt me."

Alice groaned. Her hands tangled in Bella's hair. She forced the human's mouth to hers. Slowly her tongue traced Bella's lips, begging for entrance. The vampire crooned as her mate sighed, lips parting.

Bella pulled back slightly, turning her head up so that the curve of her neck was inches away from Alice's mouth.

"Bite me. Mark me."

The words registered somewhere in the back of her mind. Alice's lips ghosted across warm skin; her tongue tracing the outline of the pounding artery. Her teeth scraped the vein slowly – not breaking skin, but bringing blood to the surface. Bella's hands tugged furiously at her hair, her hips rolled against Alice's.

She bit down gradually, feeling her teeth slide easily into Bella's body.

Blood began to pool into her mouth. Bella cried out above her, desperately trying to pull her closer.

Arousal filled her senses. Reason gave way to bloodlust. Nothing mattered but being with Bella. Having her blood, her body, her love. She rolled over, pinning Bella beneath her.

"I'm going to take you," she told Bella, her voice vibrating deep in her chest. Her gaze flicked down to Bella's neck. Blood trickled down slowly, soaking into the sheets.

Bella sighed, feebly pulling at Alice's shirt, trying to bring her closer. "Yes…please…"

Leaning down, Alice started to lap at the blood on Bella's neck. She gripped Bella's hips tightly, sure that she would leave a mark, but too far gone to care. Her fingertips toyed with the edge of Bella panties, the only article of clothing still on her body. She slipped her hand underneath the cloth…

And then she was flying through the air.

"Get your hands off of her, you damn, dirty leech!"

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**You guys gotta bear with me on this. It may seem a little crazy to get all hot and heavy seconds before werewolves come knocking…but you gotta remember we're dealing with teenagers here. I'm going to play a lot with that gray area of teenage stupidity and adult awareness. And I'm going to respond to reviews. In fact, I'll do it right now.**

**I'll update again on Sunday. After the game, of course.**


	8. Human Nature

**Love for rifleman101, Avarenda and ScOut4It, who made this chapter possible before fall break. I enjoyed your messages.**

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"He was going to kill her."

"The fuck I was!"

"Oh, so what? You shifted and chased after her to get her to rub your belly? I heard your thoughts, dumbass."

Quil growled and started towards him. Jake scoffed and looked away. Sam interceded.

"Enough."

Jake remained quiet, his jaw set. He had immediately sought Sam out after the incident with Quil and Bella. A pack meeting had been called and everyone was now crammed into the small living room of Sam's house, arguing over what should be done.

His gaze fell out over his pack mates. Werewolf legends, shape shifter legends, everything spoke about huge men who were acutely in tune with the animal inside of themselves. As his eyes wandered over the teens gathered inside the room, Jake found it difficult to reconcile myth with reality. It seemed that reality ran disappointingly south of the tribal legends. None of the kids within this room, himself included, were anything like the stories that had filtered down through Quillete history. They were not mature protectors of their people – they were teenagers. And like every teenager, their lives were preoccupied with teenage priorities: sex, self-identification, social statuses. The pressure of becoming an individual had only increased with shifting. It had set them apart from their peers and society. They were treated as adults, as revered individuals.

Jake felt the all too familiar nausea twist his insides. Recognizing the expectations that were placed on his shoulders always made him feel sick. _'Can't anyone see? We're just kids playing adults.'_ Their bodies could change, could take on the appearance of an imposing and impressive grown person – a figure of legend. But they all knew, no matter how hard they tried to hide it – that they were still just kids, still just trying to figure themselves and their lives out.

He was pulled from his personal reverie by another pack mate's voice.

"I can't believe you phased over a human girl," Leah, the only female member of the pack, snorted. She was leaning against the back wall, as far away from the other pack members as she could get. Out of everyone, Jake knew with certainty that Leah would have his back. Not only did she hate Quil, but Jake was one of the few out of the pack that actually respected her thoughts and opinions.

The look on Quil's face was murderous. It was well known that he considered himself the pack Beta since he had shifted before any of the others. Anyone who questioned or teased him about anything risked unbalancing his already unstable temper. He took a step in Leah's direction. "Like you could have held back either! The bitch smelled like a fucking vampire and pepper sprayed me!"

Leah raised an eyebrow, unaffected by Quil's anger. "You probably deserved it."

"Stop it."

Sam's voice cut through the atmosphere like a knife. For the mot part he had been mediating the argument – making sure no one tried to kill anyone. Now though, he stepped into the center of the room and faced Quil. "What did you say made you attack her?"

Quil's chest puffed out indignantly. "She reeked of vampire; ended up running away from me and right into one of their arms. Looked pretty cozy."

Sam's attention turned to Jake. "Did you see this?"

Jake couldn't hold Sam's gaze, his eyes lowered – he nodded his head.

Sam stepped closer to him. "Do you know if she's been with the leech before?"

Breathing heavily through his nose, eyes still on the floor, Jake nodded again. He could feel the disapproval rolling off of Sam. Instinct made him rebellious. The hairs on his neck stood, he felt tremors run up his spine. He would not be cowed into submission – he had done nothing wrong.

Embry, the pack's peacekeeper, stepped forward. Out of all of the teenagers, Embry had conceivably lost the most when he'd changed. He was the smartest of them, always had been. He was a straight A student from kindergarten on. After an almost perfect SAT score he'd been accepted into Stanford and was hailed the pride of the reservation. The possibilities had been limitless for him until the transformation. The tact that Embry had displayed after changing, however, had earned him the most respect. No one would have begrudged him feelings of resentment but Embry took the responsibility with tact. He'd never said one negative thing about the circumstances.

As Embry stood next to Sam, everyone gave him their attention.

"Sam, Bella's a childhood friend of Jake's. She isn't Quillete. Even if she has been hanging around with a vampire, what could Jake do? He can't tell her our secret; we're not allowed to tell theirs. The vampire wasn't on our land. All Jake did was protect a human from what he had deemed a threat."

Quil started to say something but stopped short at the looks his pack mates gave him. He crossed his arms against his chest and scowled back at the others, but remained silent.

The look on Sam's face was peculiar. Jake was surprised to see the wetness reflected in the older man's eyes when he looked up.

"You're attached to this girl?"

Confused, Jake nodded.

"Romantically attached?"

Jake coughed and looked at the floor. He could feel the heat rising on his face. "Well, it hasn't quite gotten that far yet… I mean, she's attractive, and we used to play together as kids, she's really nice… I just…we haven't…"

Leah rolled her eyes. "He hasn't grown the balls to man up and ask her out, is what he's saying."

Jake scowled at her.

Sam ignored Leah's remark, his attention solely focused on Jacob.

Jake tried not to fidget, but found himself unable to stop shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Sam and himself had never had the strongest bond out of all the pack members. The attention and strange behavior Sam was exhibiting was unnerving.

"Do you plan on bonding with her?"

The question, to Jake, was out of left field. _'Bonding? We haven't even gone on a date and he's asking me if I plan on spending forever with her?'_ He hesitated to answer.

Sam was impatient. "Jake?"

Wide-eyed, Jake shrugged. "I, I don't know. We haven't seen each other in ten years. I like her, I want to spend time with her, I feel great when I'm around her…but bonding? Shouldn't that be a carefully made decision between Bella and myself?"

Again, the look on Sam's face was strange.

"Jake, these vampires aren't like normal vampires. They may not hunt humans like others of their kind, but trust me, if one of them is hanging around Bella…she will die. Vampires can't mix with humans without eventual unavoidable consequences."

The crack in Sam's voice had everyone's attention. No one knew what had caused this emotional reaction, but all understood it was something personal.

"Jake if this girl means something to you, trust your instincts. Don't risk losing her. Bonding…is the most precious gift we're given. Don't be afraid to take a chance – you never know when it's going to be taken from you."

Jake frowned. "You really think they'll kill her?"

Sam's face hardened, his eyes darkening. "They'll kill her. One way or another, they'll kill her."

Rage and protectiveness flooded through Jake. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to Bella. To **his** Bella. His jaw set, he met Sam's gaze and nodded.

Sam smiled grimly. "Let's go get your mate."

A voice from the pack spoke up. "Now?"

Eyes still locked with Jacob's, Sam nodded.

"Now."

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Something was wrong.

The scent of vampire was incredibly strong. Stronger than it should have been after a stormy night.

Warning howls went up throughout the pack.

Vampires were in the area, or had been recently.

Worst-case scenarios filled Jake's mind.

'_If she's dead I'll kill them all myself."_

The minutes and miles seemed to crawl by. No matter how fast he ran something told him he wasn't getting there fast enough. The feeling of dread that had set into the pit of his stomach rolled around uncomfortably.

Finally he could see the house. The smell of vampire had only increased the closer they got. He knew at least one of them was around the area, or inside with Bella. He pushed himself faster. He heard Sam command everyone but him and Jake to guard the house; they would be the ones to go in and get Bella. Jake zoned out on the rest.

Ten yards away from the tree that stood outside of Bella's window he shifted back to human form. Effortlessly he jumped into the tree, grabbing branches – flinging and pulling himself up to the open window.

Deftly he landed inside Bella's room, crouched and prepared for an attack. The sight before him, however, was nothing like he had imagined.

Bella and the vampire were on the bed. Bella lay underneath the leech, wearing nothing but what appeared to be the world's smallest thong. They were kissing, the scent of sex hung thick in the air.

Jealously coursed through Jake's veins. A vampire, a female vampire at that, was intertwined with his future mate.

His nose twitched. Even in human form his sense of smell was still highly developed. There was something strange in the air…

'_That almost smells like…'_

Time stilled as the two women shifted, allowing Jake to see the blood that flowed from Bella's body. He could smell the venom mixing with her blood. The wolf in him responded to it as it would a vampire, an enemy. Somewhere in the back of his mind the fantasy that he had imagined of a life with Bella slowly began evaporating.

'_Not Bella.'_

He saw red. Two strides took him over to the bed. They still hadn't noticed his presence.

Reaching down, he grabbed the small vampire and flung her as hard as he could away from Bella.

"Get your hands off of her, you damn, dirty leech!"

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As soon as she was airborne her senses returned to her. Alice righted herself in midair, spreading her limbs to absorb her impact against the wall. She noted the two men in the room, the open window, the sounds of more wolves in the yard, and most importantly, the gasps of the young woman that lay sprawled out across the bed.

Pushing herself off the wall, Alice pointed to Bella.

"Marked and mated! She's mine!"

The shorter of the two men growled. Alice recognized his scent as the one from the previous day – he'd been the one to stop his pack member from attacking Bella. He was her friend.

'_And I'm still the bad guy.'_

Cautiously Alice stepped forward. She had to get back to Bella. If the venom stayed in Bella's bloodstream for too long the change would be irreversible. The treaty would be broken, but more importantly, Bella would be robbed of her choice. She took another step towards the bed.

The wolf that was Bella's friend quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Alice's scream of frustration was her only warning. She crouched low to the ground, preparing her attack. The smell of the shifters had reduced her thinking to its primal roots. The scent spoke of danger, and that danger was currently hindering her from getting to her mate.

"What's wrong leech? Disappointed that you won't get to add another wolf's mate to your casualty list?"

The voice seared her thoughts like fire. Immediately she straightened, her attention shifting from the adolescent to the other man. His looks had changed; he'd gotten larger, his hair was closely cropped now, his face older. But it was him. She would never, could never, forget that voice, those eyes.

"Sam Uley. Still blaming others for your mistakes?"

Alice watched his eyes dilate, noticed the shiver that ran the length of his body.

"I've always known who was to blame, blood sucker. The fact that the others believed your lies was their mistake, not mine."

Alice shook her head slowly, eyes on the ground. "After all these years you still can't accept the truth?"

His body jerked towards her, his lips pulled back into a snarl. "I know the truth! You killed her! You're responsible!" His breathing was labored. The wolves outside barked and snarled in anticipation. "I always knew you'd be back, that it'd happen again. So while the others stopped changing and aged, while they turned their back on their duty and slowly died off, I remained. I waited." He turned towards the bed, gaze falling on Bella's form. "And so you've come back, like I knew you would. And you've tried to kill another human, like I knew you would."

Her eyes narrowed. "I haven't tried to kill anyone. I've marked my mate. Perhaps you don't remember all the details in the treaty, but it clearly outlines what's allowed and not allowed when it comes to taking humans as mates."

Sam immediately relaxed and smiled pleasantly. "Marking is fine. Leaving your venom in them, letting them die and change into one of you, however, is a violation." He pointed over to Bella. Her hand was on her neck, her eyes squeezed shut in pain. "You left your venom in her. You're killing her." His smile slowly faded. "Your life is forfeit."

A low hiss escaped her lips. "The only reason there's venom in her bloodstream is because your stupid puppy can't tell what a bonding rite looks like. If he hadn't interrupted I'd have been able to suck the venom out properly. What is it with you dogs that none of you have the ability to lay fault where it belongs?"

Sam growled.

Alice bared her teeth.

"All of this, of course, can be solved if you'll let Alice finish the bonding."

Carlisle.

Alice nearly swooned in relief.

Standing next to her side like he'd been there the whole time, Carlisle was poster child of calmness. His tan khakis still held their ironed creases, his button-up was wrinkle free, and not even a hair was out of place. He was smiling affably, unconcerned that two naked wolves, a half dressed vampire, and a nearly naked human surrounded him.

Alice was pleased to see that the two wolves were taken back by Carlisle's sudden appearance. They hadn't heard him arrive, nor had they seen him until he'd spoken. She knew the others must be close, but none of the wolf pack had sounded any alarm.

'_Inexperienced children playing grown up games.'_

She let the smugness fill her, but kept her face neutral.

Sam's face was anything but neutral. Livid didn't even begin to the paint an accurate picture of what he looked like.

"The change is irreversible. Your lies draw you into breach of the treaty as well as her." He pointed at Alice. She bared her teeth in response.

Carlisle held up his hands in surrender. "My mistake in my wording. You're right, of course. Once changed it is impossible to return to being human. The change itself, however, is a long process. Our venom slowly filters from the bloodstream into the organs and tissue. While the venom remains isolated in the bloodstream, as it still is with Bella, it is completely possible to withdrawal the venom and halt the change."

"You can save her?"

The adolescent's voice cracked with emotion. Jake stood over Bella, looking down at her. She had bit through her lip and small cries escaped her every few seconds. Tears slowly streamed down his cheeks and landed on the sheets. Alice could hear the light 'phut…phut' as they hit the fabric.

"Yes," Carlisle told him, his face showing the obvious sympathy he felt for the boy.

Alice watched as the kid looked up at her, his eyes beseeching. "I didn't know what you were doing. I thought you were killing her."

She looked away. She wouldn't give her rival her forgiveness.

"Please," the kid spoke, "save her."

Sam looked affronted. "Save her? A vampire has marked her! She's as good as one of them now. You could never bond with her!"

Jake shook his head. "I don't care. I would rather her be alive and not with me, than dead and still not with me."

Sam took a step towards Jake and then stopped. The wolves outside must have finally caught on to the other vampires presence because a series of howls and barks filled the air.

"Looks like your puppies still have a lot to learn."

Carlisle shot her a disapproving look, but Alice didn't care. She knew Sam would never risk an all out attack with the pack this inexperienced.

Sam's eyes narrowed. "If you change her, you die." He motioned for Jake to follow and jumped out the window. There were no howls or noises of any kind as the pack ran away from Bella's house, back to the reservation.

Just as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone.

Alice immediately went to Bella's side and scooped her up in her arms. She brushed the tears off Bella's cheek and whispered in her ear trying to sooth the young human.

Carlisle stood next to the bed, looking down at Alice worriedly. "Can you suck the venom out yourself or do you want me to do it?"

Alice shook her head. Gently she maneuvered Bella so that the wound on her neck was visible.

"No, I can do it. I need to do it."

Carlisle nodded understandingly.

"Once it's done she'll need to rest for a few hours and drink plenty of fluids. When you can, come home so we can discuss everything as a family. If she's awake, and willing, bring Bella with you."

Alice nodded.

Gently she brushed Bella's hair out of her face.

"I'm so sorry love."

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**Blah. Crap.**


	9. Edge of Seventeen

Consciousness returned slowly. Her head hurt, her brain felt foggy. The light from the window seared through her closed eyelids and pounded her into awareness.

Groaning, Bella lifted her hand to cover her eyes. She turned her head away from the light, wincing when she felt a stinging pull bite at her neck.

The light '_swoosh'_ of fabric reached her ears as the room dimmed. Cautiously Bella cracked open an eye. Alice stood next to the window, watching her. Light shone through the crack in the two curtains creating a brilliant halo around her darkened form.

Bella let her eyes make the journey over Alice's body slowly. She was more than aware of the seriousness of last night's events, but couldn't help that they weren't at the forefront of her thoughts. Right now there was only one thing she wanted to know.

"Is this heaven?" Her voice was rough, her throat ached.

Alice just smiled and shook her head. "No, it's Iowa."

Bella groaned, turning her head away from Alice. "I go for romantic and you give me a _Field of Dreams_ quote?"

The bed dipped as Alice sat down next to her. "Romantic? I thought that was kind of corny."

Bella scoffed, turning back to face Alice. "Shows what you know. That was grade A romance. Prime. Original. Heart felt."

Alice chuckled before falling silent. Her playful smile faltered; her eyes trained on an area below Bella's neck. Bella watched as Alice reached out and gently traced a finger over a spot a few inches above her collar. The spot was tender but Bella willed herself to remain still. The look on Alice's face had grown somber. Bella nervously chewed her bottom lip.

"Any regrets?"

"No. You?"

"No."

Slowly Bella allowed her hand to trail up Alice's thigh. She fingered the soft material of Alice's shirt hesitantly before slipping her hand underneath the blouse.

Alice's eyes floated shut. Bella could hear the small sounds coming from the vampire – a mix between a purr and a growl. It was the most erotic thing she'd ever heard. Knots formed below her naval, chills raced up her spine. Instinctively her back arched up off the bed, pressing herself closer to Alice while her hands gripped desperately at the hard body on top of her, trying to bring them closer.

The noise that came from Alice this time was definitely a growl. The slight vampire leaned forward, her hands pressing into the bed next to Bella's head. Her eyes held no hint of the gold hue that Bella found so beautiful. Now they were as black as any predators she'd ever seen. Alluring, aroused…dangerous. Wetness pooled between her thighs, her breathing came in short pants. Rational thought began to quickly fade from her mind. Bella watched as Alice's nostrils flared, heard the tear of fabric as Alice's fingers shredded through her sheets and bedding.

The need she felt was overwhelming, consuming. Never had she felt like this, heard of feelings this primal, carnal.

'_I wonder if it's even normal…'_

Bella latched on to the random thought – used it to pull her thoughts back from the lust-induced haze she was swimming in.

"Will it always feel like this? The wanting?" she asked. Her voice felt raw, unused.

The vampire above her stilled, eyes glazed.

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Scene after scene, endless possibilities, flashed through Alice's mind. As it always had, as it always would, the future whispered its secrets to her. Bella's question has sent her mind racing forward, scanning what she could, as far as she could see.

_Again, flashes of blue and silver – limbs tangled, bodies arching. Brown hair fell in tangles, strong hands groped desperately at her. Her own hand reached up, grasping the back of her mate's neck, pulling her face towards her own. Gold eyes met gold. _

The strong beat of Bella's heart thrummed in her ears. She could feel the heat of the human; smell the arousal, the blood, thick on the air. Alice stared down at Bella, at the brown and black of her eyes. _'For now,' _she thought to herself.

Bella returned her gaze, unaffected by the silence, daring Alice to speak.

Alice bent to her, lips ghosting against Bella's, but not fully touching. Bella's eyes had closed. Alice willed her to open them, to look at her.

She did.

"Always," Alice spoke, the emotion thick in her voice. "Always like this."

And then her lips were on Bella's.

The vampire in her crooned with delight at the sounds coming from its mate. The touch of tongues, the soft trails of fingertips.

'_Mine.'_

Her hand crept to the shirt she's placed on Bella hours ago. The material was flimsy, would tear easily with the slightest of tugs.

'_Yes.'_

Her teeth nipped at Bella's neck. The wound from where she had marked Bella called to her. The urge to bite, to remark, was strong. Bella's hands wound through her hair, yanking her towards her neck. Alice barely felt the pull, but knowing that Bella was using all her strength made her insides tighten with anticipation.

Her thigh slipped between Bella's.

"Alice…"

Her tongue traced the outline of the bite mark.

"Alice."

Her fingers began tugging the top of Bella's pajama bottoms down.

"Alice!"

The anxiousness of Bella's voice pulled Alice back to reality. Her quick, uneven breathing matched Bella's.

"What is it?" she asked, searching Bella's face. The human didn't look panicked, or upset. "What's wrong?"

Bella laughed, throwing her off even more. She watched as her mate lifted her chin towards an area off to the left.

"Your phone's been ringing for the last ten minutes."

The background noise filled her senses. Alice was momentarily stunned, then angry, at herself for getting so caught up in Bella that she lost track of everything else.

'_Idiot,'_ she chastised herself.

"Is that really your ringtone?"

Alice turned her attention back to the woman beneath her. Bella was smiling, trying not laugh. Alice narrowed her eyes in mock sternness.

"It's my text tone, and I'll have you know it was Emmett's doing. He thinks it's hilariously appropriate."

Sighing, Alice slowly pulled herself off Bella. "I'd better see what's so important."

Her iPhone sat on Bella's dresser, flashing innocently – like it wasn't aware of what a great thing it had interrupted. Alice was tempted to toss it out the window, but the adult in her stayed her hand.

'_Act like you're 89, not 19.' _she told herself.

Tapping the screen, she frowned. 10 text messages, all from Edward. All telling her to quit making out with Bella and bring her home.

Sighing, Alice turned back to Bella. "My family wants to meet you. There are things we all need to discuss together."

Bella's eyebrows furrowed, the corners of her lips turned down. "Is there something wrong?" She sat up on the bed, nervously chewing her bottom lip.

Alice sat down on the bed facing her. "Nothing's wrong. You just need to know about us, about vampires, werewolves, bonding, mating, everything that has to happen now."

She watched as Bella reached over and gently intertwined their fingers. "Is the bonding why I feel you? Why I ache to be with you?"

The words were comforting, a balm on the fears she didn't even know she had. She'd never heard of a vampire bonding with a human, wasn't sure it would work. Alice felt lighter.

"It's the marking, in part. Marking enhances our connection. You would still feel…whatever it is that you feel, without it. But by biting you, marking you as mine, we're more connected. I could find you anywhere in the world, and you me. If you're hurt, I'll know, and vice versa."

Bella frowned. "What if you stop lov – caring for me?"

Reaching over, Alice cupped Bella's cheek. "I'll never stop loving you. I couldn't. Marking or no, bonded or not – I am yours. We, vampires, spend eternity searching for that one person, the only one we can truly love. Our emotions aren't like humans – we don't fall in and out of love. Even if your feelings change, my won't. Can't."

Alice was taken off guard as Bella threw herself at her. Cradling the human in her arms, Alice was surprised to see the tears in her mate's eyes and the fierce look on her face.

"I love you," Bella told her, moving so that she was on her knees in front of Alice. "I won't stop, I won't leave you."

Alice leveled her gaze on her human. "You'll need to be changed."

Bella nodded. "As soon as possible."

Alice pursed her lips. "There's rules. You have to be a certain age. And then there's the wolves – changing you will break the treaty. And of course, there's the change itself."

"What about it?"

"It's extremely painful for one. I don't remember mine, but everyone else does. They can describe it better than I can. Carlisle will talk to you about it. And after the change, it takes time, years, to adjust. Being what we are, being a vampire, is so much different than being mortal, human."

Alice could tell how confused Bella was.

"I wish I could explain it better. It's something you have to go through to understand. It's like having two sides, two personalities. There's the side of you that retains your humanity, your personality. And then there's the vampire, the animal. It's old nature, the Id in all its primal state. Feeding, mating, its concern's are instinctual."

Bella blushed. "So all you want is to have sex with me and drain my blood?"

Alice laughed, pulling Bella around until the human's back was against her chest. "I never want to harm you. My family and I only drink animal blood. I've never tasted human blood except for yours. And yours doesn't have the same effect on me that regular blood does."

Bella leaned her head back, resting it on Alice's shoulder. "So what does mine do?"

Alice felt herself begin to purr. Slowly she ran the tip of her nose around Bella's ear and neck. "It makes me want you. I don't remember much of my human life – I've always been more connected with the animal, the vampire. And it wants you all the time. The blood only turns me on more. I want you all the time. It's a constant battle between the part of me that wants to be sweet and romantic, and the part of me that wants to rip your clothes off and take you against the wall." Gently, she took Bella's ear between her teeth and scraped the skin.

Bella shuddered; her head tilted more towards Alice. "You're sure it's not just the vampire that loves me?"

Alice pulled away. She turned Bella's face towards hers, stared into her eyes. "I love you with every part of me. Never doubt that. You could deny every physical aspect of our relationship and I'd still be there."

Bella laughed. "Trust me, I'm not going to deny you anything."

Alice smiled. "Good. Let's go have a family talk with five other vampires. If we leave now I'll have you back before your father gets home." Hopping off the bed, Alice reached out to pull Bella up.

"Give me ten minutes to get changed?"

"Sure. I'll text Edward and let him know."

.

* * *

.

'_I should be crazy by now,'_ Bella thought to herself. The last 24 hours had been information overload.

'_I'm in love with a vampire, I've been marked by a vampire, I will someday be a vampire.'_

Pulling a hoodie over her head, Bella stared at herself in the mirror. She had no idea why someone as gorgeous and as…mythical as Alice had chosen someone like her, but who was she to argue.

Concentrating, she could feel her pulse pounding, her whole body humming towards the direction Alice was in. She had become her own personal Alice compass.

Snickering to herself, Bella quickly pulled her hair up into a sloppy bun. She was still sore and tired from last nights events.

'_They'll just have to make do with jeans and a hoodie. I'm not getting dressed up today.'_

The biggest obstacle would be Alice. Bella knew her…girlfriend? Lover? Mate? She knew Alice had a thing for fashion. Squaring her shoulders, she allowed her body to pull her back into her room. It was unnerving how much more relaxed she felt when she entered the room. She hadn't even realized how uncomfortable she had begun to feel when not in the vampire's presence.

Bella snapped out of her thoughts when she saw the narrow eyed look Alice was giving her.

"Ok, I'm ready." Her voice was steady, determined.

'_Just try to get me to change.'_

She was thrown off when Alice smiled. "Alright, off we go."

Bella eyed her suspiciously. Alice feigned a look of innocence. "Something wrong?"

Slowly shaking her head no, Bella turned towards the door.

"Ah, ah, not that way."

Confused, she turned around. Alice was at the window, standing on the tree limb just outside her room. Slowly, Bella walked over. "I'm not climbing down the tree."

Alice shook her head. "Your truck's too slow. We'll go the vampire way."

Bella's eyes widened. "Uh, human?"

Alice just rolled her eyes. "You'll be on my back."

Before Bella could protest, Alice grabbed her and pulled her out the window. Looking at the ground, Bella shrieked and grabbed onto Alice.

"Alice! If you drop me…" she didn't even worry about the hysterical tone her voice had taken.

Alice maneuvered her so that her legs were wrapped tightly around her waist and her arms around the vampire's neck. Bella felt cool lips press gently against her arms.

"You trust me, right?"

Bella nodded.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe with me."

"I know."

"Hold on real tight, ok?"

"Ok."

Alice's phone began to vibrate, the text tune breaking the tense silence of the morning.

Resting her chin on Alice's shoulder, Bella placed her mouth next to the vampire's ear.

"Tender, young Alice they say; come over and see me, come over and please me. Alice it's my turn today."

Giggling, Bella gently kissed Alice's ear. "You're a pretty gay vampire, you know that?"

She heard the low growl, felt Alice reach a hand up to secure her arm.

And then she was weightless and falling.

And screaming.

Definitely screaming.

**.**

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**Abandoned my ass. Don't even make excuses. I know you all thought I dropped this thing. But no, I was just busy with the last month of school. Trust me when I say learning how to teach isn't easy. But I thought I'd celebrate my first day of vacation, and subsequent aceage of my classes with an update. Happy Christmas.**


	10. She Got It

**Internet porn addiction. …No, not really. I've forgotten how to write. Give me a few chapters.**

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"Open your eyes, Bella."

Bella groaned, sliding down from Alice's back. The ground was too solid for her spinning head – her legs gave out as soon as her feet touched the grass.

"…No."

Tinkling laughter. "We've stopped."

Putting her head between her legs, Bella breathed deeply. "My insides haven't." Her eyes were shut, but she could practically feel Alice roll her eyes.

"What's up with the invalid?"

The voice was deep, masculine, and clearly amused. Hazarding a glance up, Bella confirmed it. Emmett. Groaning again, she let herself fall back so she was lying on the grass. She covered her eyes with her hand. "Stop spinning, please."

The boom of laughter was like a gunshot. It made her jump, nerves and heart flaring to full speed.

"Looks like the human can't handle the speed." Emmett smiled and crouched down next to her. Bella grimaced as she felt a sharp poke to her side. Feebly she tried to swat his hand away. Laughter, like dynamite, again boomed from the large vampire. "You'll have to get your car detailed a lot if she has motion sickness, Alice."

Shooting him a dirty look, Bella slowly pushed herself up onto her elbows. "Fast cars I can handle. Flash Gordon impersonations…not so much. Some of us still have heartbeats and internal organs to worry about."

An impish smile crossed Emmett's face. "Well from the looks of that mark on your neck, I'd say you only have a limited amount of time left to worry about that."

Bella felt herself blush, embarrassment leaving a red trail down her cheeks and neck as Emmett laughed. Looking over at Alice, she felt a rush of joy at the self-satisfied smirk on the female vampires face. "What're you so happy about?"

Alice opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a voice ringing across the lawn.

"What have you two done to the poor girl?"

.

.

.

Alice watched as Emmett and Bella comfortably interacted with each other. The ease with which Bella had accepted their nature amazed her. She knew she should have gone slower, taken more time to let Bella get to know her, to fall for her. After two years, however, she hadn't been able to wait, to go slowly.

And Bella accepted it, accepted her. Loved her, wanted her, belonged to her.

'_She's mine for forever.'_

Whether the vampire or the human part of her gave the thought was indiscernible. For once both sides of Alice's nature were in complete agreement. Satisfaction so strong it felt like fire coursed through her. She reveled in the feeling, in the completeness.

"What're you so happy about?"

Bella was looking at her expectedly, a matching smile on her face.

Before she could even reply Alice heard Esme's voice call out from across the porch.

"What have you two done to the poor girl?"

Both her and Emmett winced. Esme's tone was all mother hen. Alice watched as Esme was instantly crouched down next to Bella, concern etched on her face as she placed a cool hand on Bella's forehead. Shooting Emmett a look, Alice and he both took a few steps back.

"Are you ok, dear?" Esme gently coaxed Bella up into a full sitting position. Even with the lecture Alice knew Esme would dish out later about properly caring for her mate, she felt a rush of pride at how easily her vampire family was accepting of the human.

"Oh," Bella was flushed, "Yeah, I'm ok. Just not used to super vampire speed yet."

Esme rounded on Alice. "You **ran** all the way here with her? Alice!"

Alice had the smarts to look abashed. "There really weren't very many options. You all wanted to meet her today, and there's only a limited window of opportunity to do that before her father gets home." She gave her best puppy-dog eyes and innocent voice.

Esme's mouth set into a hard line, her brows furrowed. "Why didn't you drive your car?"

Alice shook her head. "I didn't have it – I didn't drive last night."

"What about Bella's car, doesn't she drive?"

Alice hesitated, quickly searching for the best explanation that wouldn't instigate any further motherly anger from the older vampire. Thankfully, Bella came to her rescue.

"Actually, Mrs. Cullen, a tree fell on my truck in the storm last night. It's completely totaled."

Esme continued to frown, but couldn't think of any further arguments. Alice bent over and offered Bella her hand, carefully pulling the girl up from the ground and to her side. "I promise to take it easier next time," she half told Bella, half told Esme.

"Well," Emmett started, clapping his hands together, "now that that's all figured out, how 'bout we head inside and start…" he lowered his voice and raised his eyebrows, pinning his gaze on Bella, "the interrogation."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Lame."

Emmett scoffed. "Whatever, you know it was funny."

"To a juiced-up, frat boy vampire maybe."

"Well maybe my sense of humor just flies right over your short, little head."

"Well maybe…"

"Enough! Both of you." Esme's voice cut through the argument, effectively ending it. Turning to Bella, Esme gently tucked the young human under her arm and started walking her towards the house. "Come on inside, Bella. Let's leave these two to work out there childish impulses by themselves."

Alice watched as Esme escorted Bella towards the house, away from her. She couldn't fathom any sensible reason why rage and possessiveness coursed through her body. Esme had Bella. The only mother Alice had ever known, who had a mate. A male one at that.

'_She is MINE!'_

Her lips pulled back into a silent snarl. She would take her mate back.

Now.

A firm grip on her shoulder stopped her short. Instinct had her turning, growling, crouching for an attack.

Emmett stood stoically, all traces of humor gone. He leveled his gaze at her and spoke evenly. "Inside that house is your family. This may be a new feeling, a new experience for you, but you better get a hold of yourself pretty quickly. No one poses a threat to you or Bella."

Shame quickly quelled the burning anger. Alice felt disgusted with herself for the feelings and thoughts she'd had towards her family. "Will it always be like this?" she asked quietly, gaze fixated on the ground.

The hand on her shoulder squeezed gently, comfortingly. Hazarding glance up, Alice saw Emmett smiling bittersweetly.

"Always. It's always like this."

.

.

.

The house was breathtaking. Hardwood floors, granite countertops, vaulted ceilings, an open floor plan. Bella walked aimlessly around, gazing at everything. "This house is amazing. Not even Home and Gardens has anything this beautiful in their magazines."

"Careful now, you may just give Esme a complex."

Smiling, Bella turned to see a familiar face walking through the foyer doorway. She reached out to shake his hand, not evening flinching at the cold grasp. "Dr. Cullen, it's nice to see you again."

"Call me Carlisle, please." He released her hand and stood close to Esme, casually wrapping an arm around her waist. "Esme designed and built this house when we first moved here."

"I seem to remember being coerced into helping."

Bella turned again, this time to her left. Another vampire was descending the stairs. Where Emmett was the definition of masculinity, this new male was the epitome of beauty. With the tousled bronze hair, high cheekbones and angled jaw he could have been on the cover of any fashion magazine. Or Harlequin romance novel. He gracefully moved to Bella's side and smiled.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Edward."

Bella imagined that he would have been European royalty during his human years. He seemed to fit the role.

"It's nice to finally meet you face to face, Edward. I'm Isabella, but please, call me Bella."

He seemed friendly, but Bella noticed he was careful to keep his distance. Frowning slightly, she noticed that all three of the vampires were further back from her than normal social standards called for.

'_Do I smell bad? Do they want to bite me? Did I offend them somehow?' _Bella wondered if there was a discreet way to sniff her breath without them knowing.

A cold hand slowly slid underneath the back her shirt and started stroking her skin.

'_Alice.' _

She could feel the vampire's presence without needing to check. The scent, the touch was distinctly Alice. Bella allowed herself to relax and lean back into the touch.

"Looks like you've been introduced to everyone but Rosalie." The tone of her voice was curious. Bella could see Alice's expression from the corner of her eye. Something had upset her in the short time they'd been separated.

"Well why don't you go get her Emmett and we'll meet you in the living room?" Carlisle suggested.

He nodded and then was gone. Bella blinked, amazed to see the display of speed so openly. The rest moved at a human pace into the adjoining room.

Alice's hand tightened on her hip, stilling her movements. Bella felt coldness seep through her shirt as Alice rested her forehead between her shoulder blades. She could feel the growl that was coming from her girlfriend more than hear it – a slow vibration against her back. Hands slowly made there way under her shirt, caressing her sides, scratching against her skin.

"I can't stand smelling anyone else on you," she whispered in her ear, rubbing her cheek against Bella's. "It should only ever be mine, be me." Teeth scraped down her neck, settling on the still fresh mark. "On you, around you, inside you."

Bella's breath escaped in a ragged gasp. "Yes."

Teeth pressed down harder.

Hands grasped desperately.

A throat cleared loudly.

Bella opened her eyes and looked around – she felt disoriented, lost.

Edward stood in the doorway, smiling slightly. He jerked his head slightly towards the dining room. "C'mon lovebirds, you can always break in the foyer some other time."

Bella's face felt like it was on fire. Alice laughed. "Like Emmett and Rose haven't already done that," she joked, pulling Bella into the family room.

'_At least her bad mood's gone,'_ Bella noted. She was too embarrassed to look directly at any of the other vampires in the room, but sensed that aside from Rosalie everyone seemed to be amused.

She took a seat next to Alice; being overly cautious to keep a safe, appropriate distance away. Unease crept up her spine as she looked around at the five vampires staring at her expectedly.

'_Should I say something? They're looking at me like I should say something. What should I say?' _

"Bella," Carlisle started, effectively cutting off her panicked thoughts, "we realize that everything that's happened in the last week has probably left you feeling…" he faltered, searching for the right word.

"Crazy," Bella supplemented.

Carlisle laughed, the tension in the room easing. "Yes, I suppose that's as good a description as any. We wanted to have you over to answer any questions you might have, explain anything that you'd like us to."

Bella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.

"I don't even know where to begin," she sighed. "You're all vampires."

Carlisle nodded.

"And you feed off animals instead of humans."

"Yes," Esme said, "we would never harm you."

Bella smiled reassuringly. "I know you wouldn't." She looked over at Alice. "Alice bit me, which has marked me as her mate."

Again Carlisle nodded.

"Why me?" Bella tried to keep the anxiousness out of her voice. She wanted rational conversation, not emotional brain spew. _'Deep breaths, Bella. Be calm, be collected.'_

Esme smiled comfortingly, her hand resting on Carlisle's leg. "You were meant for her."

Bella gave a forced laugh, "What? Like a soul mate?"

Esme smiled proudly, "Exactly like that."

"You'll understand once you're changed," Emmett told her. "Humans get so caught up in their thoughts and doubts. Once you're like us, it's like a veil lifts. You see what really matters." He reached over and tenderly touched Rosalie's cheek. "You see who really matters."

Bella looked over at Alice, who was watching her closely. "So this pull, these feelings I have for you are mine? It's not some secret bonding-mating voodoo thing?"

Alice gently laced her fingers through Bella's. "No voodoo. Your feelings are all you."

Bella frowned, confused. "Then why would Jake and the others want to kidnap me? If I love you, and was meant for you – made for you…why would Jake want me?"

She watched Alice's gaze flick over to Carlisle, who sighed.

"The Quileute's aren't like us, Bella," he told her. "They change into wolves whenever vampires are present. While vampires are close they don't age. But when we leave they go back to being human."

Bella nodded, "Ok, I get that."

"Since they're neither supernatural beings nor ordinary humans it seems, though we're not 100% sure, that they have the ability to choose who they want as a mate."

"What about the other person? What if they don't like or love them?"

Carlisle gave her a grim look. "After the bonding ceremony the person would love them, regardless of their feelings beforehand."

Bella looked over at Alice. Her chest clenched painfully at the thought of leaving her, of being forced to love someone else.

"Did they know I was your mate?"

"Your friend didn't," Edward told her. He was leaning up against the doorframe, gazing out the window. "He was only thinking about a happily ever after romance." Slowly he turned his head and looked at Alice. "Sam Uley knew." His gaze slid to Bella's. "He's the one who put the whole idea of bonding into Jake's head."

Alice's snarl made her jump. The grip she had on Bella's hand became almost too painful.

"Why would he do that on purpose? Does he hate vampires that much?"

"He hates me that much," Alice growled.

"Why?"

Just as suddenly as Alice had become enraged she relaxed. Her shoulders slumped, her head bowed. "It was a long time ago," she told her, gently rubbing her thumb across Bella's knuckles. "I was very young."

"Tell her Alice."

Bella's head whipped around to look at Rosalie. It was the first she'd spoken the entire time. Her jaw was clenched, her hands balled into fists.

"Tell her what happened so she knows exactly what sort of trouble you've brought to us," Rose demanded.

"Rosalie!" Esme sounded affronted.

"It's ok, Esme," Alice sighed. "She's right, Bella needs to know."

It was as if the years had suddenly caught up to Alice. Bella watched as her usually playful and happy girlfriend sagged with fatigue and age. Gently she placed her free hand on Alice's thigh, offering what little comfort she could.

"It all began about 85 years ago," Alice began, looking at Bella solemnly. "Back before your grandparents were even born."

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**I have to re-upload old chapters to put the page breaks back in them. So ignore it if there says there's been like ten updates. **


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